Trickster of the Trades
by NonaryNathan999
Summary: I am not a nice man. I am... acerbic. I can be cruel. It's who I am. Right to the bottom. I'm neither proud of this, nor... ashamed of it. It simply is. And through my life, my nature has been an advantage far more often than it has been a hinderance. I'm good to you? Yeah... For the most part. I consider you to be... exceptional. So I make an exceptional effort to accommodate you.
1. Chapter 1

**This is a fanfic. BUY THE FUCKING MERCHANDISE!**

 **So... This Is the Power That Resists Ruin...**

The Phantom Thieves all stood up on a patch of land that was right in front of a cliff. How high they stood was perhaps unspeakable as it was like they could touch the clouds. But they didn't have the time for admiration. They were too busy fighting against Yaldabaoth, the god of control. For a while, they refused to drop down from exhaustion. If they screwed up even once, who knew what would or could happen to them.

All of them were panting however. Many had their hands on their knees, taking breaths in and out while resisting the urge to drop onto their knees. "Did we do it…?!" Futaba asked with her breath slightly running out. Glancing upwards, she saw that the being that was perhaps even larger than a skyscraper still stood tall. "…No, not yet!" She exclaimed.

 **My Control Shall Not Bow down to Ruin.**

 **My Control Is the Ultimate Truth in This World.**

Soon, a black sphere began to materialize right in front of Yaldabaoth's chest. Without even lifting any of his arms, he put power into the object. Red lightning crackled around the ball like static. It didn't even take a second before the object exploded, releasing an explosion of black and red which consumed each and every one of the Phantom Thieves.

They all scream and cried out in pain and surprise. The sudden attack overwhelmed them as they hit the ground. Such a force was so much stronger than any of them anticipated. Grunting in pain, Ryuji was on his back but tried to get back up. "He's strong…" He weakly said, struggling to get up.

Shakily, all of them struggled to get back up to their feet. Morgana narrowed his eyes. "If you're really a god, you should be guiding humans to your ideals!" The cat exclaimed. "You're destroying them because you can't do that, aren't you? So that you can flaunt your own existence. That's why you were observing us! You had to because the reaction of the 'masses' worried you!"

Yusuke let out a small amused huff. "That sounds about right." He commented.

Ryuji hissed in pain, but still managed to stand. "I don't know how long you lived, but you're the perfect example of a pain-in-the-ass old man!" He growled out to the massive god that threatened all of mankind.

Ann scoffed. "You find people like that everywhere." She supported Ryuji's comparison.

 **What Drivel…**

Such words did not impress Yaldabaoth apparently as he created another sphere. But rather than a massive explosion like before, it was this time a fog than made their world even darker than the blackest void. Winds picked up and nearly threw them all off of their feet. They couldn't even see their own limbs or bodies.

"What is this?!" Ann asked, one of her hands shielding her eyes.

"Dammit," Ryuji growled out, narrowing his eyes to try to help his vision in the fog. "I can't see a thing!"

"Do you want to erase us from this world that much?!" Haru yelled out against the winds.

 **Since You've Been Forsaken by the World, There Is Nowhere That You Can Belong.**

Now several bolts of energy came raining down upon them. The onslaught was without mercy. The massive amounts of power would course through their veins. It brought pain. It brought agony. So much so that it made all of the Phantom Thieves fall once more. Dropping like puppets with their strings cut off.

Akira took in a deep breath as he held in the urge to grunt in pain. It wasn't exactly agonizing, but it definitely hurt. Getting up to his feet shakily, he then began to notice something out of the corner of his eye. It made him freeze, fearing something. Slowly turning his head, he began to see what he had thought and was afraid of.

None of them had gotten back up with him. There wasn't even a peep from any of them.

The leader of the Phantom Thieves quickly rushed over to everyone that was down. Quickly grabbed Ryuji's wrist, he held it up and tried to feel for a pulse.

Not a single beat.

Akira then moved onto Morgana. No. Ann. Nothing. Yusuke. No. Makoto! No! Futaba! No! Haru! No! He poked them. Akira shook each of their bodies. "Guys… Guys! Come on!" He shouted, as it that were the way to wake them up. "Not like this! We can't lose like this! If we lose, the world is…" Akira cut himself off as he moved towards a different body. "You need to get back up!"

He was desperate. Desperate for not a single one of them to be dead. Akira was in front of Futaba soon as she was lying right next to Morgana. Morgana and Futaba… they were the youngest out of the eight of them. Slowly and shakily, he reached his arms out. Cupping Futaba's head in his right hand, Akira cupped Morgana's head in his left. "…Please… at least one of you…" He whispered, almost unable to bring the words out but managed to hold back a sob as he pulled both heads to his chest. "PLEASE!"

There was then a laugh from Yaldabaoth.

 **Not Even One Sliver of Unpredictability Can Be Permitted Under My Control.**

"I guess it was impossible in the end…"

"It was fun while it lasted though…."

"It's humans against a god after all."

Akira slowly began to look up as he heard voices echo around him. But none of them came from his fellow… late-Phantom Thieves. They sounded like anyone you would hear off of the street. All of them… just sounding like they were giving up… that they didn't want to try anymore at all.

 **Do You Hear the Voice of the Masses?**

 **They Mock You for Revolting Against a God.**

 **Humans Are Naught but Clumps of Desire. Logic Dictates That a World Filled with Them Will Decline.**

 **The Sin of Rebelling Against a God Is Severe.**

 **As Punishment, You Shall Taste Pain Everlasting Before Your Life Is Forfeit.**

As Yaldaboth continued to talk, Akira's hands began to grip Futaba and Morgana even tighter than before. His entire body shook with rage. His eyes narrowed into a dead, cold expression. Did that mean he should just give up? Just allow Yaldabaoth do what he pleased? Let the masses of humanity influence his actions?

"Not letting that happen!" Akira snapped his head up to the sky and roared this sentence out. Gently dropped Futaba and Morgana's corpses to the ground, he began to swiftly stride over towards the edge of the cliff. His eyes were narrowed in anger. Fire burned inside.

 **The Trickster Still Stands, Hm...?**

 **You Have Already Failed Once. It Is Impossible for an Existence like You to Overrule My Precedent.**

 **The Dregs of Human Hope Is Nothing but Insignificant.**

"Don't you even dare think about underestimating hope – human hope!" Akira exclaimed, stomping on the ground while continuing to take his stance. He was literally standing between him and Yaldabaoth. His finger raised upwards as he pointed sharply. "Even if I'm the sole survivor of the Phantom Thieves, I can confidently say that we yield to no one! No matter who they are! Even though it's only me, I'll continue to get back up and fight to the very end! You! And me! We're finishing this HERE! AND! NOW!"

 **Break**

The city of Tokyo was in complete chaos.

There was a red rain, as if it were blood, as many looked around in complete panic. Other screamed in terror as they ran as if that were going to make it all go away. There were bones and remains of rotting flesh and corpses from so many indescribable things just laying around and decorating their surroundings. People evaporated into black miasma as they didn't even know what was going on.

"Someone…" A tearful woman wept, almost at a loss for words at the events occurring in front of her. "Someone just disappeared!"

"What the hell?!" A pale man exclaimed, snapping his head back and forth in panic. "What's going on?!"

Some sort of punk off of the streets meanwhile grabbed a police officer by their collar. "Do something, dammit!" He shook the officer fearfully. "Aren't you the police?!"

"Please!" The young officer tried to soothe the man. The officer even grabbed the hands that had him held. "You have to calm down! Sir, what's going on here!?"

A shocked man was on his phone, calling to see if anyone he knew had any idea of what was going on. But then his phone was not working at all. He shook his head. "It's no use…" He said, clearly giving up.

[You! And me! We're finishing this HERE! AND! NOW!]

Blinking, he heard a voice coming from some speakers that were hooked up to one of the buildings. "Huh?" The man questioned when he heard that those were working but his phone wasn't. Looking up, he saw the screens that would always present themselves to anyone who bothered to look over towards them. Normally, they would be showing announcements, news, or maybe other things. But right now, there was static.

There was an image that could be made out from that static though. It was hard to tell what it was at first, but then it slowly began to become a bit clearer. Unlike the black and white, there was red there as well. But the image soon began to be made out as the Phantom Thieves logo.

Looking up, a male student scratched his head. "…What was this again?" He asked in confusion.

"… The Phantom Thieves?" The officer that had to calm the punk down questioned, looking up as well. "Weren't the Phantom Thieves those…" He seemed to struggle to remember what he was going on about.

"They haven't given up yet…" A timid female student said quietly.

A young man however looked at her and then back to the screens. "Can they even do anything about a situation like this?" He frowned.

Another boy shook his head. "No, it's impossible… There's no way…"

"Take it down, Phantom Thieves!"

A single blue-teenager however jumped into the air while pumping his fist at the same time. His cheer was so loud and sudden, making everyone surrounding him look over. Looking around him, Mishima was shocked at all of the looks he was getting. Yet he was in complete disbelief towards them.

"Come on, why do you think they've risked their lives all this time?!" He scolded each and every person looking at him funny. He groaned. "Dammit, you guys! Snap out of it! WHEN WILL YOU STOP RUNNING FROM THE TRUTH?!"

His final words came out so loud that his body tensed with the power behind his words. Panting, he could only hear his own breath and the red rain dripping onto the ground. It all seemed pointless to others, but not him. No at all. The Phantom Thieves were the reason why he managed to make it up to this point in his life. He was never going to give up on them.

"…Phantom Thieves…"

Hearing someone even utter their name caused Mishima to snap his head up in surprise. But as soon as he looked around once more, he began to hear more cheers. It just started with small handful, a simple few. It then turned into a dozen. A small crowd. An entire mob of people within seconds!

Two words. Two words managed to have a massive effect on the people as so many cried out their names. Cheered them on. Such words almost brought Mishima to tears. Turning back towards the screens, he started jumping up and down again. "Phantom Thieves, can you hear us?!"

 **Break**

Taking breaths in and out, Akira swayed a bit.

Gritting his teeth, he shook his head to try and prevent himself from falling over. He felt tired… so tired. Never before had he felt this amount of exhaustion. "…Arsene…" He said as he glared over toward Yaldabaoth. His Persona slowly was brought into existence, just waiting for Akira to give an order.

Just as Akira opened his mouth, he was unable to speak when he heard voices. Pausing, he craned his head slightly. He heard words. Such sounds entered his ears. It was like a cool ice against his burning fire. He felt his anger die down – by not much – but by a perfect amount to make Akira think straightly.

A small smile began to grow on his lips, as if he were happy all of a sudden. Scratching the top of his head, he stared directly at Yaldabaoth's face. "Yes…" Akira said quietly. "We have to finish this here… Just you… me… and everyone else..."

 **Break**

Turning his head, Mishima blinked when he saw an adult walk up to him, having an amused look on his older face. "Are you someone who's been charmed by the Phantom Thieves too?" Sojiro asked Mishima in the middle of all of the cheering. The coffee and curry café owner seemed to have a knowing expression on his face.

Mishima only smiled. "…I sure am." He answered as he nodded. "Is the same for you too?"

Sojiro chuckled. "Pretty much." He said with a smile of his own. He soon started to see everyone chanting. Looking amongst the crowds, he was impressed. "Looks like it's not just us though."

 **Break**

"Can you hear them?" Akira asked in a whisper, stepping closer to the cliff. "All of these people were afraid because of what you have done? All of these people that were absolutely terrified… didn't even know what to do…" Slowly raising his one of his hands, he pointed to the space behind him where all of the voices were coming from. He wore a look that could only be described as him being proud. "Can you hear their cheers?

 **Break**

"I'm not letting you lose after getting this far." Takemi shouted amongst the crowds. Narrowing her eyes, she made sure that her voice was sure to be heard. "You better finish what you've started!"

Iwai folded his arms. His face was scrunched up in pessimism, but his words explained his expression. "It may not look like it, but I've got high hopes for you guys. You better win this!"

Kawakami put a hand on her hip. "They'll win if I cheer them on?" She asked. Despite her question being only for herself and unanswered, she still smiled. "Then I'll cheer them on as much as they need!"

Ohya scoffed. "You've stolen the hearts of this many people." She pointed up at the screens, as if they could see her. "I won't let you lose!"

Chihaya made a fist of determination. "I can tell that you are all capable of standing up against any kind of fate." She stated while believing that the Phantom Thieves that all of Tokyo, all of the world, was cheering them on.

Yoshida had a confident look. "You all are truly causing a revolution right now!" He nodded his head while pointing forward. "Goooooo!"

"Look forward, and keep fighting! …You taught me that, after all!" Hifumi exclaimed, cupping her hands around her mouth in an attempt to amplify her voice among the many voices.

"I've cheered you guys on all this time!" Shinya yelled out, pumping his fist up. "And I'll continue doing so here on out!"

Lavenza stood by the entrance to the Velvet Room, nodding her head. "You are our last hope…!" She called out. "I beg you… finish this!"

"It's you guys' fault I don't know when to quit either." Sojiro added to the masses. "Get back up! Don't lose to that thing!"

"No matter what anyone says, I believe in you guys!" Mishima threw in as well. "Go for it, Phantom Thieves!"

"I'm counting on you, everyone…" Sae said. "I will believe in you to the very end…!"

 **Break**

"So you say you're a god…" Akira felt his body began to fall down but he still did his best to stand strong. "Well while that is kind of true… You're just a dictator - rule now - with command, and authority, and the dominance above others. You wish to control them. To control whenever they get to feel love, and loss, and birth, and death, and joy, and sorrow! So…"

Akira took in a breath. He gripped the chains that were linked to him and Arsene. "…So… come on then… Finish me… And I will finish you…"

With a sharp tug, the chains snapped apart. Blue flames began to consume his Persona. As it soon began to shine in a blue light, Arsene suddenly exploded into bits. Such pieces began to fall all around the land which Akira stood on and down towards the ground that could not be seen from his view.

 **So You Have Failed to Harness the Power.**

Akira however only chuckled. "What's wrong?" He taunted, causing the massive head to bend just the slightest towards him. "Too scared?" I don't blame you. After all, I may have lived a small life…" Akira grunted, almost unable to finish that sentence when bolts of energy fell upon him. But he still managed to barely stand. "But I've done… quite a few things…"

Yaldabaoth was about to strike Akira again. But then something stopped the god. There was actually thunder brewing around them. The god looked up and let out a gasp of surprise.

Descending from the clouds was a being as massive as Yaldabaoth. Black-feathered and black-leather wings, a total of six, were on the back of the massive being. Its head looked like a horned demon that was gold with a black halo around its head. With a body covered in black and gray apparel, it was almost shocking to see that it carried itself with an impeccable grace. But there was a gun. A massive firearm that was perfect for its size.

Small orbs of light began to surround Akira. As more appeared though, the cheers of the people below began to get louder and louder. "I learned about the power of a Persona… With the power of the Wild Card I did so much…" Akira paused between every sentence, just to be able to catch his breath. "I was the first to create the Phantom Thieves and saw them to the very end…"

It was hard for him to say those words. Especially when the corpses of them were right behind him. "Moment by moment until there no one was left alive. No one standing! No one breathing! Just me!"

The lights began to draw themselves closer to Akira. But that was not all. Streams of energy were flowing out of everyone behind him. Morgana had black flow out of him. Ryuji released yellow. Ann gave out pink. Yusuke leaked light-blue. Makoto spawned dark-blue. Futaba produced green. Haru brought out pink. It was as if they were giving the last of their energy to aid Akira. As if their spirits were seeing this moment through with him to the end.

"I've walked in the Metaverse where its laws and physics were devised by he mind of a mad god!" Akira roared towards Yaldabaoth, nearly choking on his words. "And I've caused hearts to change and bonds be forged! I have seen things you wouldn't believe! I have lost things you would never understand!"

Akira dropped to his knees for that sentence, a couple of tears beginning to escape his eyes. He then sobbed into his hands as it only made him remember the fates that everyone had met. But then he saw the streams of colors and orbs of light surround him immensely. He knew that he couldn't break down. Not yet.

"And I know something!" Akira just managed to get out shakily, slowly standing up. His body slowly absorbed all of the light around him. The colors from the Phantom Thieves giving him a sudden burst of energy. "A secret that is needed for all! A secret hidden in plain sight! The secret that would make dictator gods blaze!"

Reaching into his jacket, Akira pulled out one of the two pistols that inside and pointed it right at Yaldabaoth. At the same time, the massive being behind Akira pointed its firearm at the god. "SO, COME ON THEN!" He roared out. "WATCH ME! WATCH ME TAKE YOU DOWN RIGHT NOW! BEGONE!"

His finger twitched, just being right against the trigger of his gone.

"PILLAGE HIM, SATANAEL!"

Pulling the trigger, the Persona pulled the trigger of its own gun at the same time. A massive bullet soon went flying right out of Satanael's gun. The metal slug just made its way right towards the face of Yaldabaoth. The god had already began forming another black sphere of power. But then the god was too late.

The bullet had gone right through Yaldabaoth's head.

The black ball was fired into the sky as Yaldabaoth's body began to fall backwards. There was no resistance in a dead god to hold the massive being up. Slowly, it descended due to the god now being nothing more than a giant corpse.

Letting out a single breath, Akira began to feel so tired. As he watched Yaldabaoth fall, the Phantom Thief hunched over. Losing the strength to keep himself standing, he dropped off of his feet.

Falling off of the cliff, he began to drift into unconsciousness as he plummeted to hidden ground below.

A purple circle formed below the body however with black markings. As soon as Akira came into contact with the circle, he disappeared in a flash of blue.

 **Break (End Song)**

"Let's see…"

A fourteen-year old Weiss Schnee muttered to herself as she was looking over a few books that she was required to read over. She was forced to study them due to her position as an heiress of the Schnee Dust Company and learn the ways of how business works and decided to be in her bedroom for such readings.

Closing the business book, she pushed it to the side in favor of dragging a new book in front of her. Opening it, she flipped through the pages until she found a page that had an odd-looking monster on it that was black with some kind of odd mask made out of bone.

"Hmm… interesting…" Weiss muttered to herself, sipping from a mug of a warm liquid. Since it was the afternoon, she decided to have tea rather than coffee. She stared at the image of some kind of worm-looking creature that was on the pages.

However, a few seconds passed as she closed her book with another sigh. Standing up, she began to walk over towards her bed due to deciding to take a small nap. She stopped halfway and looked out of her window. As she expected, there was snow on the ground.

It was not surprising since it was currently winter in Atlas at the moment. Plus it had snowed yesterday at the same time. Despite being in the north, it did not always snow as people thought. Yes, the weather would be usually cold, but snow would only be when temperatures were cold enough. Plus, there was not a cloud in the sky right now as she could see the sun shining down.

But then she narrowed her eyes when she saw something funny around of parts of the grounds that was near a beautiful viewpoint of the Kingdom. She saw… some kind of purple glyph. Yet... there was also a blue light coming from it at the same time.

But then her eyes widened when she saw someone come out of it. Thrown out of the light was a male teenager with black hair and… a very peculiar outfit on as well. Stepping closer and putting her hands on the window, she did her best to get a closer look from where she stood. The boy had been thrown a couple of meters into the air.

But then that purple glyph she saw earlier disappeared as the male's body become buried in the snow and he didn't even stir.

 **So here is the rewrite of Trickster. And knowing all of you picky readers, you're all going to say that this intro is even worse that my previous one.**

 **Anyways, let me state something right here and now.**

 **I'm not sure if I should have Akira keep his Wild Card ability because that just means there are going to be so many Personas that I'm going to have to constantly look and debate whether or not they are appropriate for the situation and I've never exactly liked that.**

 **Or I could keep it simple and have him be able to use all of the Phantom Thieves' Personas (Evolved ones) because they're simple yet I find it appropriate at the same time.**

 **No flames please.**


	2. Chapter 2

**This is a fanfic. BUY THE FUCKING MERCHANDISE!**

"Thank you for you help, Klein."

Weiss nodded to her butler as the man set the unconscious boy down onto a couch in the library of her home. After witnessing the events that had happened, even though it was only for seconds, the female still acted quick. Quickly getting out of her room, she tried to locate help and fortunately ran into Klein.

Kelin was a slightly overweight man with balding brown hair and a large mustache. Dressed in a white dress shirt and black waistcoat, he also had on trousers and shoes to match his outfit. But despite his looks the man was rather fit due to having been tasked with many requests since her childhood.

"It's no problem, Miss Schnee." The man shook his head, denying the action being any trouble. He turned to look at the girl. "Always a pleasure to help. Although, I do admit this is one request that is rather odd from you." The butler eyed the boy who was unconscious on the couch.

"Well I do have to agree with you there." Weiss nodded her head while putting a hand to her chin, eyeing the boy as well. He wore a black ankle-length tailcoat, a high-necked waist coat with gold accents, black jogger-style pants, brown-black winklepickers, and a pair of red gloves. "Odd or not, this is still extremely weird if I have to say. I am going to get some answers from him when he wakes up. This is just far too strange."

"Strange, Miss Schnee?" Klein asked from behind her, a bit of curiosity and worry in his voice. "Could you perhaps elaborate if you are okay with that?"

Weiss kept her gaze fixated on the unconscious boy, but then she still answered Klein. "An odd glyph appeared just outside and just seemed to… spit him out. They were symbols or an emblem I've never seen before… and they were purple. It's extremely odd though since the Schnee family should be the only ones with such an ability of glyphs. Even so, I've never seen or hear Winter explain that we have that kind of ability."

"I do not mean to be rude, Miss Schnee, but if I may search him?" Klein asked, taking a step forward.

Weiss looked back but then stepped out of the way for the man. "Go on ahead." She gestured, but then looked down with a bit of hesitation. "However, this is a bit of an invasion of privacy… But you have permission to do so."

Her butler then started to pat the boy down. A second later, the man rummaged through the coat pockets. Not even five seconds passed as Klein pulled out two odd looking handguns, what Weiss assumed to be a singlestick, as well as a few gems and odd coins as everything was placed on the floor. There was even some kind of device that looked a Scroll that lacked the ability to compact itself and was a bit thicket. The heiress was surprised at the stuff but then her thoughts were snapped back when she saw a wallet which the butler released a cry to triumph at.. "Ah-ha! Now, we might be able to see who this boy…"

His voice died down a bit as soon as he opened the small storage for cash. Weiss blinked as she leaned over to try and take a look. "What is it?" She asked.

Klein looked over to see Weiss attempting to eye what he was looking at. "I believe it would be better for you to see for yourself."

Confused, Weiss gingerly took the wallet and began to look at its contents. "What the…" She breathed when she saw what seemed to be a form of identification but then it had weird scribbles on it. Not only that but there were also odd pieces of paper and strange coins as well. "I don't recognize any of this. This ID of his doesn't have a name…"

Looking at the unconscious body, Klein looked back to the white-haired girl. "Should I inform Master Schnee or the authorities?" He asked. "The boy does lack the necessary proof to show who he is and it is quite suspicious being left on this property how he is now. Not only that, but strange weaponry inside of his clothing as well. Might I also remind you of the items? Perhaps the law enforcers will be able to find out who he is."

"…We could do that…" Weiss nodded slowly, yet she was rather hesitant with her choice. "…But I want to at least give him the chance to explain himself before go and turn him in. As I said, there are things I want to ask him. That list has just increased now though with this wallet as well as weapons."

"…Very well, Miss Schnee." Her butler agreed with her before looking at the unconscious body. "But I do hope that he wakes up… soon…" Klein leaned back a bit cautiously as he trailed off. "What is he doing?"

Hearing this, Weiss turned her head and understood why Klein asked his question. It looked as if… colored smoke was ascending from his mouth. But then he simple inhaled it again and the cycle repeated itself. She frowned. "…What is that stuff coming from his mouth?" She questioned, but then she began to lean back with a small look of disgust. "Oohh, I hope he's not sick." She moaned.

"Should we try waking him up?" Klein suggested.

Weiss hesitantly put her hand against the boy's shoulder and started shaking the body. "Hello?" She asked. "Can you hear me?" She realized that was a stupid question to ask as soon as it had escaped her mouth.

"Maybe he is sick?" Her butler asked.

"Well, he was outside in the freezing cold for a few minutes before we brought him in here." Weiss admitted while stepping back and folding her arms. "Perhaps he's hurt."

"Allow me, Miss Schnee." As Weiss stepped to the side, Klein made his way over to the boy and started to inspect the body once again. He frowned. "I see a few bruises…" The butler noted as he pushed up the sleeves of the boy. "No cuts… Some burn marks on his skin…"

"That could mean he was in a fight recently. What else would explain the guns?" Weiss hypothesized, tapping her forehead in thought. "So then a Semblance might be the reason why I saw that glyph… But then again, only the Schnee family has the power of glyphs and they're not even that purple color I saw." With a sigh, she rubbed her face. "You may leave if you like, Klein. I perhaps need some time to think while waiting for out… guest to wake up."

"If that is what you wish." Klein nodded his head.

"Thank you for your help, Klein." Weiss nodded her head back to her butler as he had left the library.

"Hello there."

Weiss nearly yelped in shock but then slapped her hands over her mouth to muffle her cry. Snapping her head back towards the body, she saw the boy was now fully awake but then not really moving up from his position of lying down. "Wh- huh? What?" Each of her questions were surprised suddenly seeing the boy awake.

"I said... hello there..." The boy gave her a strange look before looking back up to the ceiling as he frowned in thought. Rolling his jaw around silently, he had an odd expression. "…Fluent English rather than my native tongue, Japanese… Odd considering that I know that Japanese is in the back of my head right now, but everything is just coming out as English."

Weiss still had her jaw partially dropped open throughout the entire time of his small monologue to himself. "Excuse… me?" She gave him an odd look, still a bit baffled at how she was ignored for a good few seconds. Grey eyes blinked once before looking over in her direction. "…Who… are you exactly?"

"…" He was silent for a good few seconds. He didn't answer her question because it seemed he was mentally occupied at that moment. As if… he were remembering something. Something that made him… a bit sad… some of sorrow. But all of that disappeared within another blink of an eye. "Sorry about that, there are just a few things on my mind." The boy apologized right away while getting back up to his feet, albeit with a bit of stumbling in his step. "Akira Kurusu by the way."

The heiress stepped back when the boy got back up to his feet. When he almost fell off of such support however, she just about held out her hands. He fortunately however kept himself stable. His introduction came immediately after which caught the female off-guard. Opening her mouth, no sound escaped. When she tried a second time, she couldn't form proper sentences. "I… I… I…"

Akira tilted his head. "I, I, I?" He asked while taking his hand back to hold his chin up in a thoughtful look. "Is this some sort of greeting? Saying hello or something similar is something I would assume… Unless this is a completely different culture of sorts. But then I don't exactly think this would be the case anywhere on Earth." He looked back to Weiss. "Could you perhaps tell me where I am, Miss? Specify which country or continent I'm currently on?"

Weiss was still baffled at the vents and just the spouting nonsense that this Akira person was saying was perplexing. Earth? Country? "Look here!" She finally stepped forward with a bit of steel in her tone. "My name is not Miss, and I want answers-"

"Well, what do you expect me to call you?" Akira asked, his eyebrow now raised.

"Huh?"

"If not Miss, then who?" The boy explained, giving her a weird look. "Despite my introduction, you didn't exactly tell me your name at that moment."

"…Weiss… Schnee." Weiss found herself having to take a couple of deep breaths to calm herself from this boy just somehow stressing her out within seconds.

"Weiss Schnee?" Akira asked, but then nodded his head a few seconds later. "Hmm, seems like a lovely name." Bobbing his head up and down, his eyes then locked too the floor and he just ended up staring. "…Is that my stuff on the ground? Why would it be there?" He looked up immediately. "Were you trying to rob me?"

"No!" Weiss nearly shouted, but somehow managed to settle for raising her voice just a bit higher than her normal volume. "I just saw you outside being flung out of some sort of… glyph or portal in front of my home and had you brought inside! My butler searched you and found all of these items in hopes of being able to tell what your identity is!"

"…I already told you though." The male stated straightly. "Akira Kurusu."

"Before you were conscious!" Weiss exclaimed. "Which leads me to another thing, what the heck is all of this?" She grabbed his wallet, opened it, and shoved the item right into his face. "What are these random scribbles and symbols?!"

At this, Akira frowned partially. "That's not exactly a nice way to describe the writing of one's culture."

She gave him an incredulous look. "…Culture?" She asked in disbelief, putting her free hand on her hip.

"Yeah, Japanese to be specific." With a nod of his head, he pointed to the card that had his face and strange scribbles on it. "Those random scribbles and symbols are Kanji, adopted logographic characters used in the Japanese writing system." He then looked a bit confused. "You do know of Japan, correct?"

Weiss didn't even acknowledge his question. Instead, she stepped forward and jabbed a finger right to his face. "Now listen here! I've had it up to here with you!" She stated, gesturing to a certain height. "I have too many questions on my mind right now, and that list is only increasing with every second that you are standing in front of me! So, could you do me a favor, and stay silent for five seconds?!"

Panting, Weiss huffed as she had lost a lot of air in that tiny rant of hers. Taking in breaths, she had her eyes narrowed at Akira who had a bit of a straight face. Exactly five seconds must have passed because Akira opened his mouth. "Better?" He asked with a single blink.

Staying silent, she still kept glaring at Akira. The boy only stared back at her patiently. But then as no sound passed between the two of them, she realized that he was actually waiting for her to respond. Blinking, the scowl she wore began to soften as she looked away in a bit of embarrassment because of her suddenly yelling at him. "…Yes, that is a small load off of my chest." She admitted. "…Also… I apologize for having you searched earlier while you were unconscious."

"That's quite alright." Akira breathed while putting his hands behind his back and nodding his head in understanding. "From what I can understand, I'm just a random stranger that appeared right in front of your property all of a sudden without any form of identification you are unfamiliar with. I'm honestly surprised you didn't get straight to the point."

Like that, the irritation that was recently gone inside her grew just a bit in an instant. "I would have if it weren't for your small rambles." She answer back, getting Akira to hold his hands up in response that admitted that he was indeed guilty of such. Clearing her throat, she took a deep breath.

Akira waited without any problem.

Raising a finger, Weiss waited for her thoughts to sort themselves out. As she did, she kept herself trying to think while keeping an eye on Akira. He just stood in place without even batting an eye, just rocking on his heels back and forth. But the boy was thinking about something himself and it didn't make him exactly happy.

Letting out a breath, Weiss figured out how she was going to go about things. "You said that your name is Akira Kurusu, correct?" She asked slowly, seeming to attract the boy's attention as he nodded silently. "That name is not related to a color as is the tradition into the present day… You muttered some places about Earth, Japan, and country… I do not recall any places having those names here on Remnant. What your saying doesn't make any sense at all."

"…Remnant?" Akira asked, scrunching his face up into thought.

Weiss gave him a look of disbelief. "You know… Remnant? That is the world we live in."

"…" Still having his previous expression on, he also turned his lips down into a frown. "…Do you have a map on you by any chance?" He gestured around him. As his hands swept the area however, he paused for a second before looking around. "…Am I in a library?"

This conversation was just becoming a complete whirlwind of emotions. Right now, Weiss just gave him a flat stare. "You just noticed that?" She deadpanned before throwing her arms up in exasperation and walking away. "Hold on, I believe there is an atlas around here. Just let me look for it."

"As you could tell, quite a few things are on my mind at the moment." Akira simply responded as Weiss reached a shelf. The boy simply turned his head to the side when the female had walked past him. "My surroundings were something not exactly on the top of my list as there were… other things that I was concerned about."

"What kind of things were those then?" Weiss questions, pushing a ladder among the shelves to a specific area.

Akira went silent once more. Weiss didn't notice him tilt his head down towards the ground and look at his hands as if they were covered in something. He took in a deep breath and sighed quietly. "Friends… family… Where I currently am at the moment." He only responded, placing his hands back to his sides. But less than a moment passed when it occurred to him. "Can I pick my stuff off the floor?"

"You already could have done that from the beginning." Weiss rolled her eyes and she pulled a book out and descended from the ladder. Walking towards the boy, Akira was already picked his stuff up and storing them into his pockets. "Where did you even get that stuff anyways?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Akira stated as he took the atlas out of her hands.

"I still would like an answer. At least tell me where you got those gems and… odd looking coins."

"I found them lying around and inside treasure chests in a magic netherworld while battling symbolic demons born from the dark desires of humanity."

Weiss glared at him silently.

Leafing through the atlas, Akira peeked up and saw the look he was receiving. "I said so, you wouldn't believe me." He only said as he eyed the map that he had found inside of the book. Silently he stared.

So… he wasn't on Earth…

It all came crashing down on him in an instant. Before, during his silent moments when he had time to think away from the talking he provided for Weiss. Yes… he remembered what had happened to him… to the Phantom Thieves. Piece by piece the memories came in as he found himself distracted for seconds. But now…

He took in a deep breath and held it in. Keeping his eyes fixed, he began to remember everything once more. How he was the only one standing against Yaldabaoth, the massive god with everyone dead behind him. The last one… a fact that swirled in his mind and eventually became a blur after what felt like an eternity of torment.

"…Are you okay? You been staring at the map for nearly a who minute."

Looking up, he saw that Weiss was frowning towards him with a bit of worry. She held concern for him… a stranger who she only saved and knew for not even more than a day perhaps! "I don't recognize any of the land masses among… Remnant." He had to take about a second to recall the name of the place he was in.

Not on Earth… not on his own home planet… gone from his home.

"I-I'm sorry." Akira apologized quickly, closing the atlas and handed it back to Weiss who was surprised due the speed of his two words. "I believe I need some air." He immediately stepped past her and pushed the door into a hallway.

With a bit of shaky breath, Akira paid no mind to his surroundings as he snapped his head back and forth to find a way out. Shaking his head, he started to go down the halls and turned a corner.

Weiss had her jaw open, just watched Akira go away from her. What made her just stand in a frozen state wasn't just the fact that he walked out on her, but also that there was… something behind his eyes.

She knew that kind of look. Weiss saw it many times whenever she would look at herself in a mirror… on any sort of reflective surface. Remembering… times that were extremely tough. Sad. Devastating. Shocking. The female knew that there were many people that experienced the feelings that she went through. But never, ever, has she seen it in someone else.

Putting the atlas on a table, Weiss quickly followed Akira to wherever he was going.

 **Break**

Akira didn't know how he had ended up suddenly surrounded, but he had been walking for a good amount of time. Fifteen minutes if he could be more precise.

Looking all over the place, he saw people. Just like in Tokyo, there were people everywhere walking about with a destination or goal in mind. There were many buildings that were large as well as small. Actually… this place did remind him of Tokyo… a lot.

Tokyo… Japan… Earth. Phantom Thieves. Morgana. Ryuji. Ann. Yusuke – Makoto – Futaba! Haru! Akechi! Sojiro! Takemi Iwai Kawakami OhyaChihayaYoshidaHIFUMISHINYAMISHIMASAE-

"Akira!"

Snapping his body around, he held his hand up as he took up a defensive stance. Panting, he saw that Weiss was standing behind him. He also noticed that she had put on a rather warm looking coat. Swallowing, he took deep breaths in and out to try and calm his nerves. Bringing up his hands, he rubbed his face to try and get him back to thinking straight.

"Apologies." He finally said after a period of silence, surrounded yet ignored by many. "I just needed a bit of time to think about everything."

Weiss kept an eye on Akira. To her, the boy seemed… unstable at the moment. As if he were a building just threatening to collapse at any moment. She began to feel a bit guilty. Back at her home, she had didn't exactly give him an easy time. Rather, he did his best to make sure that she was content with what she wanted without any problems.

"It's… okay…" Weiss found herself almost at a lost of words. How was she supposed to go about this? Yes, he was a stranger. But then he mentioned that no landmarks or anything among Remnant was familiar to him. Also throw in the fact that he spouted all kinds of things she was pretty sure never existed among the world she lived him. He was… confused… disoriented…

She was concerned with him. Just a few minutes and already there was something about him. Maybe it was just the fact that there was a fair amount of charisma behind him. Akira did seem to hold a bit of a logical mind… although some of the stuff he said is questionable. Namely that explanation of where he found those gems and odd coins.

"Do… you want something to drink right now?" Weiss offered, pointing to a café they were standing in front of. Yes, they could go back to her home. But she felt like this was something she should tackle as soon as possible.

Akira looked over before nodding his head. "…Yes, I believe that would be nice right now." He then began to walk over to the building. Getting to the door first, the black-haired male held it open for Weiss.

As the two of them went in, they went towards a table that was free and sat down to wait. As soon as they seated themselves, a waiter came over. "Hello, Miss Schnee, a pleasure to have you select our establishment to settle yourself in for a bit." They greeted with a smile while handing them a menu.

Akira blinked as Weiss sighed. "It's nothing really." She only stated, taking the menu and the waiter walked away. Giving the booklet to Akira, she saw him giving him staring at her. "What?"

"…Are you a celebrity of sorts?" He asked, taking the menu out of her hands while looking through it.

Before Weiss could say anything, gunshots rang throughout the building.

 **This chapter was supposed to come out about a week ago. A few problems however. School is a real nuisance but it's still a requirement that I want to pass badly. Dragon Ball FighterZ is a second reason. Monster Hunter World is a third (especially since I'm all alone when playing it).**

 **I think this is at least decent. No, Akira didn't really get the chance to explain himself. Nor did he give it much. Not exactly seeming affected of the Phantom Thieves and his sudden experience of actually still being alive but in a completely different? world. But I am writing him in a specific way I think may work out, so please stop the complaints about Akira acting OOC. He is, after all, a character we choose how his personality and how he acts.**

 **Weiss… I think she's fine. Some of you may think she's OOC as well. I simply say then you go write a PersonaxRWBY fic in this exact context and my ideas in mind.**

 **EQUIPEMENT AKIRA HAS ON HIS PERSON: He has Arsene's Cane. Yes, it is a bit of a weak weapon, but I just want to try and have a bit of fun in this fic (can't you all at least let me have that?!). He has both the Nataraja (from Metatron) and Tyrant Pistol (from Lucifer) guns as well because he can.**

 **But yeah, I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter. Especially since I started this in favor of sticking around with the original Trickster.**

 **ALSO! Planning to do ANOTHER PersonaxRWBY fic in a similar way. But instead of Akira and Weiss… it's Akira and Ruby! Oh, I wonder how you all will find ways to hate on this new idea.**

 **No flames please.**


	3. Chapter 3

**This is a fanfic. BUY THE FUCKING MERCHANDISE!**

There was just so much an average person could take in all at once. Fortunately for Akira, he was not exactly an average person. Yes, he still had his limits. But he still liked to think himself at least as the kind of person who is a jack of all trades, a master of none.

When he had first been thrown into the Metaverse, it did indeed send him for a loop at first. Mybe because he had never actually seen Shujin Academy before. Then again, schools did not look like castles in the century he had been living in. But, unlike Ryuji, he kept his composure rather reserved instead of bursting out with shock and surprise.

Although, Akira could probably consider it to be unfortunate to be able to take many things in at once at the same time. Recapping his thoughts, he found himself thinking back to Yaldabaoth when he had ended up killing the rest of the Phantom Thieves. A frown and diverted eyes had been the first thing that he had done when he woke up in Weiss' home.

He still remembered when each of them had fallen, only to never get back up. Like rocks in the ocean, they only sunk when he expected them to go up. It made him wonder. Why him? Why was it only he that was the last one standing? Why couldn't it be him that would have been downed instead. It would have been a much better trade in his own opinion.

Although he was concerned about family, those related by blood to him were not exactly included. He actually didn't exactly have much interaction with his parents. Mainly because if there was one way to perhaps describe his family, it would be… dysfunctional.

Those he considered family were Sojiro mainly as well as a few other adults that were his confidants. Iwai, and Shinya being some other perfect examples. Yes, they were odd to use. But Iwai was like an uncle while Shinya was like a little brother who he could console whenever the younger boy seemed down. He supposed that should mean all other adults would be considered aunts and Tora as another uncle, and that didn't sound too bad.

But then came the news about him not actually being on Earth, the planet he had lived on for hs entire life. One of the eight planets, nine in Akira's opinion since he preferred to include Pluto despite what people would say, of the solar system of the Milky Way.

But just for him to be given such news that he was in fact in a world called Remnant was a surprise for him. Was Remnant a new planet? A new dimension? He didn't know what it was, and for that he didn't like it.

When he was given an atlas to be shown a landscape of the titled land, the waves of realization and remembrance came crashing down. Once more, it flooded his eyes and he could see them all. All of the Phantom Thieves down on the ground as his world just washing away. So far away in just an instance when he had closed his eyes and fallen.

His exterior seemed fine, but the battle of turmoil within threatened that. Akira almost found himself breaking down with frustration if it weren't for Weiss interrupting his thoughts. His name being yelled out towards him helped stabilize the boy at the moment so he would be able to regain his own composure, managing to temporarily bury the shame that replayed in his mind.

Speaking of whom, Weiss. Weiss Schnee for him to be more specific. From quick observations during their conversations (if he could call them that) the female did not like nonsense at all. He wondered if she either had a sort-temper or he was just really good at getting on her nerves with how she reacted to some of his wording as well. Well, in her defence, he did ramble on a bit which did lead to more questions as she pointed out.

He suspected her to be rather rich as well, by the way that they were in the middle of a library when he had woken up. Another few things that gave it away were the large halls he traversed through, the maze-like layout of the building he walked out of, as well as several decorations no ordinary person would have. Not only that, but also the way their waiter had greeted before handing over the menu.

If there was maybe one more thing he could add so far to describe her it would be… well meaning. Once more, she overreacted over some things in his own opinion. But then he saw how she looked at him a few moments ago. It was… concern. Concern, for him? A complete stranger? The thought almost made him breath through his nostrils with amusement behind such air.

But, now was not the time for much more of an inner monologue.

As soon as the sounds of shots echoed through the building, screams and shouts filled the air next. The terror spread around like an infection, people ducking under the tables immediately. Fear was something most of the customers and staff shared.

Weiss was a part of that crowd as well. The ducking under the table part, not the screaming. Akira quickly descended as well, keeping a hand brushing around the inner pockets of his jacket. Feeling, his fingers touched the handle of the two guns that he had on his person. Despite their bizarre looks, they were still real and loaded. If he could be honest though, he didn't want to use them.

Only one marched straight into the establishment. Akira narrowed his eyes with a frown on his face as he got a better look. The single figure was holding a handgun, a glock if he were making it out properly, and wore a mask. But it was the mask that Akira had to admit piqued his interest a bit. It was covering their entire face except their mouth, attempting to make that one person look like some sort of creature.

Not only that, but their… extra feature; a pair of horns on their forehead despite the mask taking up pretty much all of their face.

The Faunus yelled out his instructions for everyone to stay on the ground. But the order were coming out bit slowly from what Akira had observed. They just kept on looking around while pointing his gun all over the place.

As Akira peeked up a bit more, he felt a hand grab the back of his jacket and yank him down. "What do you think you're doing?!" Weiss hissed quietly, keeping a clump of his clothing balled up in her hand. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?!"

"Of course not. In no way am I suicidal in the slightest." Akira answered quietly while looking at the white-haired female with a raised eyebrow, perplexed to why she had asked that. "I was just trying to see if I could get a better look at the fellow that is standing up at the moment." He gestured a bit with his head in the general direction he was looking originally. "Quite odd, a terrorist with horns. Then again, I suppose it could be another accessory one could wear to hide their identity even better."

With that said, Weiss gave him a weird look. "…What?" She asked in disbelief. "You've never seen or heard of a Faunus before?" As Akira stared at her with a blank expression, she blinked. It then went through her head as she remembered. "That's right. You're not from Remnant." She mumbled to herself before looking at the boy once more while taking in a deep breath. "I'll keep it simple for you, especially due to the situation we're in at the moment." A sigh escaped her lips. "Basically, in layman's terms, they are a race who look human but bear one feature of an animal; ears, tail, or something else for examples."

Akira's lips curled down, but his look was of interest rather than any negative thoughts. He hummed. Was that it? Were those features only there for physical appearance, or could they actually used for other purposes. "Interesting. I'll have to do some research about them later. But right now, there is the issue of being held at gun point at the moment."

Weiss sighed once again at how Akira simply peeked above the table as well. But curiosity took over despite her wanting to be cautious and she peered up as well. She frowned. "But what does the White Fang what in an establishment like this? Did this place absolutely refuse to serve any Faunus?" The female began to mumble to herself once more.

Those words caught Akira's attention as he craned his head once more. "White Fang?" He whispered, eyes blinking in a bit of curisosity. "Refused to serve?"

Weiss nodded her head. "The White Fang is an activist group that wants equality between humanity and Faunus kind. Due to the past, humans view the Faunus as lower beings and most even outright treat them as animals; even at one point hunting them for sport. Both races eventually worked together due to a common conflict, but then that didn't fix the relationship between both races. But to more present matters, and to really answer your question, the White Fang started off with peace rallies. Those did not work as they were ignored and even physically attack by other humans."

Akira frowned, making sure to keep his attention split between Weiss and the apparent Faunus that was keeping a watch on everyone in the building. To put such a speech from Weiss bluntly, racism. It was an issue back on Earth, but it seemed to be up to rather extreme degrees here. At least where he came from, people sometimes kept it to themselves. Here, it almost sounded like people were just open to voicing their own opinion.

"Apparently, the original organizer of the White Fang stepped down and moved to Menagerie; a landmass in the southeast of Remnant. A new leader then stood up and… took up a different belief. Rather than having humanity respect Faunus fairly, have them respect the Faunus out of fear." Weiss saw Akira turn his head a bit more in her direction but kept an eye up front. "Their methods do work, as unfortunate as it is."

"…I see…" Akira only answered, still staring in the direction he kept his eyes glued on for the past few seconds. There was also that history that Weiss briefly went over, but didn't go into detail due to their situation. So at the moment, there was a possibility that the White Fang was actually in the right. After all, the Phantom Thieves were viewed as heroes or criminals depending on the opinion of the person one asked.

But then there was the actual problem of this group going to an extreme of actually attacking places. While humans did seem to have driven them to that state, the Faunus are also in the wrong for turning to such actions. He didn't blame them, but their actions are still something he frowns on.

A situation where no side is in the right or wrong. Some of the toughest problems that one would ever encounter without any good solutions.

Weiss nodded her head to answer Akira silently. But then suddenly, the boy stood up and began to walk forward. "Hey – wait - what are you doing?!" She whispered quietly. But the black-haired male either didn't listen or didn't hear her. "Akira, get back down! Akira!"

Akira slowly moved forward, his hands raised up to show that he was unarmed at the moment. With him just standing alone among so many people crouching, he stuck out like a sore thumb. He didn't even manage to take a step forward when the gun the Faunus was holding was pointed directly at him.

"Hey, you," The person with horns shouted loudly, stepping towards Akira. "Get down on the ground now!" However, Akira only stared at him with narrowed eyes that seemed to be calculating something. "Didn't you hear me?! Get down or else I'll shoot!"

"…" Looking up and down, Akira scanned the Faunus in front of him slowly. The slightest shake from the hands. A bit a sweat seen along the neck. The nervous twitching of the mouth. "You won't shoot me." Akira stated calmly but not in a patronizing tone, still keeping his arms and hands raised, eyeing the pupils behind the mask in a calculated gaze. "Is this your first time pointing a gun at someone? Your first time doing something like this?" His question came out carefully.

"Shut up!" The Faunus yelled back, poking Akira's chest with the handgun. "Just… put your stomach on the ground already!"

Akira still locked his gaze towards the one who was pointing a gun at him without a single bit of doubt in his eyes. After feeling a few more pokes, Akira slowly looked down at the gun before eyeing the offender once more. A few more seconds passed and yet the Faunus still did not shoot at all. "…What is your name?" He asked.

The horned-male seemed to be taken aback by the sudden question. "Wh-what?" He asked with disbelief.

"Your name." Akira simply said back in return, his reply straight without hesitation. "I asked what your name is." He nodded his head just for a bit of confirmation with what he had said. He knew what he was doing was rather crazy, but he just wanted to try something. Yes, it would be risky. But if it worked out, nobody would have to get hurt.

"I-I heard you the first time!" The Faunus exclaimed, really just presenting all bark but no bit at the moment. As the two still kept their eyes locked with one another, there was still a nervous atmosphere all around them. A growl escaped the throat of the one holding the gun against Akira's chest. "… My name is Barro." He huffed out. "I really don't know why I'm telling you my name when it should really be kept a secret."

Akira nodded his head. "Thank you for answering my question as well as trusting me with your name." He replied back. "Akira Kurusu is mine." But then he quickly switched topics. "Tell me, Mr. Barro, what exactly is the White Fang's reason for taking up their time in a building like this? I highly doubt it is the desperate need for a cup of coffee."

"…" Barro's mouth gritted, clearly hesitating about what he should be doing at the moment.

"Come on, you can tell me." Akira beckoned with his hand.

Hearing Barro take a small breath, Akira only waited to be spoken to. "This establishment has been rejecting Faunus over and over again." The horned-Faunus stated. "But that is an extremely common thing here in Atlas! So many restaurants are against serving our kind! Even if they do, their servers are rude without any restraint!" Barro pointed his gun down only to jab Akira's chest in anger.

To that, Akira frowned. But he did not answer, seeing that Barro wanted to continue his rant.

"I've worked hard since I managed to get a job mining for the damn Schnee Dust Company!" Barro just continued on, not noticing the raised eyebrow on Akira's face. "But no matter how much time I put in, how much overtime I worked, me and all the other Faunus get absolute minimum wage while the other human workers actually are paid their proper amounts! Barely, I was able to get my family through with that small amount of pay I earned. But then I was fired for a mistake that a human had caused yet blamed me for it! Without any more income while supporting my own children, we began to have to resort to food from cafés and restaurants! But almost every single place I've tried to buy from flat out refused to serve me at all just because of my race! That's why I joined up with the White Fang, why I'm doing this! It's so that if Faunus fall into a terrible situation like mine, they won't have to go through what I have!"

Akira still stared, but his face showed that he was not pleased in the slightest at all. In fact, he was rather disappointed. Disappointed that humanity was extremely racist to such a degree. Disappointed that the Faunus have taken up extremely violent measures.

"So, you're trashing this place up in hopes to send a message to all of Atlas?" Akira asked slowly, his eyes narrowing even more with each passing second. "What if that doesn't work? Will you just continue what you do? Will each establishment fall victim to your group's methods? What if instead, it actually just makes humanity completely adamant to even serving your kind at all?" He paused, but then didn't let Barro reply. "Tell me, what about the gun then? Is that just used to intimidate people? Or is it just used to show that the White Fang is a group that wants to be feared? That none of you will hesitate to pull that trigger when pointed at anybody? To prove you are willing to kill to achieve your goals?"

Akira stepped forward, prompting the horned-Faunus to raise his gun once more and keep the tip of the barrel pressed against the boy's chest. "How much blood are you willing to put on your hands? How many lives will you ruin? Just how far are you willing to go?"

Barro didn't answer though. Instead, the horned-Faunus slowly looked at the firearm in his hand. Watching the body language of the Faunus, Akira saw that was the arm was also shaking. Akira took in a deep breath, and it brought Barro's attention to Akira.

Weiss meanwhile was just staring at the two with a bit of curiosity while feeling a bit disturbed at the same time. She was impressed and baffled at how Akira was not shot on the spot when he had risen up. She was partially right though, the boy was indeed charismatic. He had managed to take control of the conversation right away when they had started talking. But rather than take the chance to attempt to disarm the offender, Akira just continued to speak.

It almost stunned her at how Akira just acted as if it were nothing at all. There was no sign of him being nervous or arrogant as well during the conversation. Negotiating with an enemy on the spot while being held at gunpoint. Was it after so much practice that he would be able to keep his composure under threatening situations? Was he just a natural when it came down to talking to people? Weiss slightly doubted the latter due to their first conversation back in the library.

"Apologies, I seem to have… overstepped something. You said that you have a family, correct?" Akira asked in order to change the subject, slowly placing his hands behind his back. He bent forward a bit. "Boys?" He tilted his head. "Girls?" He shrugged his shoulders. "A wife?" A moment of silence passed between the two of them. "Go on." Akira then nodded, as if he had the man under a hypnotic spell. "You can tell me if you'd like."

"… I do have a wife." Barro let out, his grip tightening on the gun. But the finger was anything but resting on the trigger of the weapon. "Children as well. A boy and girl…" His lips twitched, turning down into a frown before swallowing. "It used to be two girls actually… but one of them…" Taking in a deep breath, Barro sighed while dangling his arms. "I don't even know why I'm telling you this. You're just a complete stranger and a human at that."

"…" Akira stayed silent, not answering the Faunus.

"My own daughter… beaten just because she was a Faunus… and was just left alone on the side of the road." Barro continued on, but in a somber mood. "They said that she was dead when the skull was shattered. Who would do that?" Behind his mask, eyes stared at Akira. "Who would be that heartless to do that to a teenager? The humans call us beasts yet look at the monstrosities they are themselves."

Akira then hear the click of a gun. This time, instead of the chest, he felt the cold metal press right against his forehead. Several gasps sounded around them, reminding them that they were not alone. It was odd, their conversation almost bringing them to their own world. Akira's frown grew deeper.

"You won't pull the trigger." Akira stated, his eyes narrowing. "Despite those memories triggering something, you won't do it."

"That's what you assume. Some events can change people though." Barro growled out, pressing the weapon down harder. "Tell me, do you know what it's like to see a dead body of someone you care or love? How it feels?"

"…" That was when Akira's eyes softened a bit and diverted their gaze for the first time through the entire conversation. "…I do, actually, yes." He nodded. "It's… scary. Just for a moment, the entire world around you turns grey. In such a brief moment… you don't want to believe… believe that it is real. You hope and pray that it is nothing more than a dream to only then realize that the nightmare is reality. Then the loss of strength, unable to hold yourself up as you fall to your knees. Even if you manage to stand, the legs threaten to give out with each passing second. The image and thoughts replay in your head on an infinite loop. It makes you think why… why did it have to happen? Why did it have to be them? Why not someone else?"

Akira shook his head. "Of course, that was for me. For everyone… it's different. Some could be silent, seeming stoic yet they mourn. Others cry and weep. Maybe there are ones who laugh, that do not care at all."

Silence passed. No one spoke. No one moved. Not a single soul attempted to go for Barro's frozen form. Blue and red lights soon began to pass over their eyes. As the both of them looked to their sides, they saw from one of the windows that there were police cars all around the area. From what Akira could tell, escape was not an option unless certain circumstances were available.

"It looks like you have a limited amount of options at the moment, Mr. Barro." Akira noted, the two of them making eye contact at the same time. "So, before you either shoot me here and now or take me hostage as leverage, mind if we both look to our lefts now?"

There was confusion and a bit of distrust on Barro's lips, but the Faunus did so anyways. Once more, the horned-figure went stiff. In his and Akira's vision, there were two female Faunus. One looked to be in her teens while the other was a child. The older one of the two pulled the younger one closer when they were gaining attention. As the teen covered the mouth of the younger female, the child meanwhile looked like she was going to cry just at the mere sight of being in Barro's vision.

"Mr. Barro…" Akira said, not even noticing Barro looking back at him as the black-haired male just kept his gaze on the two. "I'm sorry for what happened to you. Nobody should have to experience what you have. But… this?" Akira held out his arms. "This is not the answer of what you should do. Really, what you should have done is try to find another job. Sure… it would tough to find one from what I can understand for you. But that's for any job in general." Akira shook his head. "You at least still have family and friends with you."

Barro slowly turned to see Akira, the teen's narrowed gaze still hard but softened. Looking to the weapon still pointed to Akira's head, the Faunus then turned all around him to try and recognize his surroundings. Sluggishly, he began to put his weapon down onto a table with a nearly stunned expression judging by his mouth.

Silently, step by step, Barro walked to the door while raising his hands.

While eyeing the authorities arresting the Faunus, Weiss slowly began to rise from her spot. To describe herself again… it would be shocked that such a scene had played out before her eyes. "…Are… are you okay?" Her question still had a complete tone of disbelief behind it, still not sure if she should accept that the events that had just taken place happened.

Akira took in a deep breath, a lost look in his eyes as he hesitantly shrugged. "…I don't know."

 **Break**

Akira stood on the spot where he apparently appeared out of some glyph, as quoted by Weiss, eyes squinted as the winds blew chilly air around him.

It was a rather nice view from where he stood. He could perhaps see most of the city… or Kingdom from what Weiss had to correct him on. Unfortunately, being so high up reminded Akira of the high cliff he and everyone else were on before against Yaldabaoth.

Folding his arms behind his back, he saw someone approaching from out of the corner of his eye. Turning his head, he saw who it was and nodded in a greeting. "Weiss." He acknowledged curtly, keeping his gaze locked on her.

"Akira." She nodded back slowly, as if unsure of what she was doing. Her approach was slow, a bit of awkward wobble in her steps. She was shivering a bit, unable to take in the temperature that the outdoors provided at the moment. "How are you able to tolerate this kind of temperature?"

Akira brushed a couple of snowflakes off of his jacket. "It may not look like it, but I too am a bit cold at the moment. This jacket may be able to help me withstand the temperatures do such a degree, but it still is rather chilly for me. Better than being fully encased in ice however."

Weiss gave Akira an odd expression due to how he released that phrase so casually. Then again, this was a boy who was possibly not a native to Remnant and talked a terrorist into giving themselves up. Quietly, the both of them looked out towards the Kingdom, eyeing the buildings and technology going around to transport people and goods.

"It's quiet a beautiful sight." Akira commented, his breathing perhaps seeming to try and start a conversation. "Although under all of that is a very spoiled civilization as well as a poor one from what I can tell from my first few hours here. I'm sure there are lovely, normal people here however."

Weiss didn't really want to agree with Akira, but she silently did just by a small margin. "So… what now?" She asked, still looking forward with the black-haired boy. "You don't exactly have anywhere to go… anything to do either."

Akira didn't say anything for about a second. "To tell you the honest truth… I'm not quite sure." He admitted. "Perhaps find a place to pawn off a couple of gems then find a place to stay." He shrugged his shoulders. "What I'll do from there though… I do not know."

"…You can stay here if you'd like."

Weiss watched as Akira craned his head towards her slowly, as if he were a rusted machine. Eyebrows were jumbled up in confusion on the boy's face as it looked like he wanted an explanation for what she had said. "…My family has many guest rooms that almost have never been used for years." She then narrowed her own eyes. "But fair warning though, any kind of suspicious activity from you, and I will have you kicked out into the snow with nothing but the clothes on your very back."

Akira kept his eyes on her with surprise, taken aback by such a rather generous offer. A nod came soon after. "I wouldn't have it any other way." He answered.

Weiss seemed satisfied with what Akira had said, but she didn't seem exactly content. "One other thing though." She watched Akira raise and eyebrow. "I want to hear what happened to you. How events built up to you arriving here."

Once again, Akira was caught off-guard. "…Why?" He found himself asking.

Weiss now found herself going silent, hesitant to even speak now. But Akira's gaze showed that he was being more than patient with her and he didn't mind that at all. Folding her arms, she rubbed her elbow while avoiding his look partially. "You look… lonely." She finally spoke. "I've seen that look too many times… more that I could count." She found herself spilling such previous information out, like that Faunus back in the café. Akira standing, willing to listen just made him so… trustworthy. She saw a new look in his eyes and just decided to stop there. "If you choose not to say anything yet, that's fine. I will not rush you. But just know…" She gave him a look of her own. "No one can help you if you don't tell them anything or don't ask for it."

With a curt nod of her head, she began to walk. However, she didn't even manage three steps when she hear him speak.

"It leaves a blank space inside me, an empty feeling." Akira stared off, making Weiss stop in place and slowly turn towards him as he continued to speak. "I fear as if I'm standing on one side of a wide chasm, shouting across, and wondering if the responses I hear is really my friends and companions or just my own desperate delusions." He inhaled, allowing a small pause. "My friends… they all died because of me. My family… companions… I was torn away from them… Perhaps to never see them again… I'll never see my home ever again…"

Akira found himself swallowing. "You want to know what's wrong with me? A couple of words do come to mind… Guilt… shame… maybe even regret… those are perhaps things that plague my mind, body, and soul. What we have done… what I have finished… I wouldn't have been able to do what had happened without them. We all changed the hearts of the corrupt and cruel, attempted to make the public a better place. Yet what was their reward? They all died… Though I guess it's a punishment that I lived. It makes me wonder… what would have happened if it were me instead? Would that perhaps be the better scenario?"

As the two stared at each other, the winds died down. The chill stopped and it became warmer just by a bit without the cold air. "Would you like to hear my story, about how it all started?" Akira asked. "I do warn you though, it's a very long tale."

Silently, Weiss walked back towards him. Quietly, she attempted to make herself comfortable as she stood in place. With a single nod from her, she began to listen to Akira's story.

 **Finally, finished!**

 **Right, I'm satisfied with this end result! You all may think it was a terrible chapter, but I like it! Yes, this small result took long, but I have so much to do apart from this. School being the main and primary example. PASSED SEMESTER 2 AT LEAST! Which bring me to semester 3 while I am between average and getting under the passing grade at the moment.**

 **This may turn out to be a disappointing fanfic to most of you judging by this chapter and the previous one. But those who don't like it… then don't read it. Yes, I'm constantly saying this. But really, stop PMing me about how you don't like it because of this and that. It's my fanfic, it's my writing.**

 **I am doing the best I can with these. I hope that it is at least enough to satisfy you all considering how I'm just an average to below average writer.**

 **No flames please.**


	4. Chapter 4

**This is a fanfic. BUY THE FUCKING MERCHANDISE!**

Weiss Schnee laid awake in her bed as her internal clock forced her to exit out of her peaceful slumber.

Rubbing her eyes gently, she groaned while choosing to stretch her arms. As relief filled her arms when she relaxed, the former feeling that started with the letter R spread through the rest of her body. Yet still, she did not get out of her bed. She did not make any sort of effort to get off of her mattress at all.

Simply lying down, her thoughts drifted back to the story from yesterday. Sticking with her ever since she went to sleep, Weiss constantly thought about the tale that many would describe as nothing but pure fantasy.

The boy named Akira Kurusu, whom she had met yesterday, was not from Remnant at all.

Hearing his bizarre tale, she almost cut the black-haired male off on several occasions due to many things of his story seeming to be complete made up to her. But, according to Akira, whatever he said was true. He didn't blame her for not believing the part about the travelling to a magical netherworld to fight symbolic demons born from the dark desires of humanity.

But from what Weiss understood, from the information she had gained, Akira was some sort of vigilante that changed the hearts of corrupted people. There was a fair amount of variety as well in Weiss' opinion. A high-school teacher who attempted sexual advances to female students while physically abusing the males of a volleyball team was something she did not expect at all. Nor one about a politician who used their method in order to kill and take advantage of the population's confusion.

One she was not very surprised about, which she could not decide if it should be to her disbelief, was an owner of a large business. Weiss' thoughts immediately set upon her father but thankfully she was holding her tongue through Akira's tale. While she did not exactly want to say that this Okumura person was the same as her father, their practices were very similar.

A thought then struck the female, and she kind of hoped that Akira will not end up getting too much of a bad impression from her father. But from the conversation when she first met the boy to the rather vulnerable side he presented her, the first time of them meeting one another could go either way.

Speaking of which, she wondered how Akira was feeling right now. The last time she saw him, had just finished using the shower that was provided in the guest room where he was staying for the time being. After washing up, he was right inside the library and reading a book that seemed to be about the history of Remnant. At least… it seemed that he was reading. To Weiss' eyes, she thought he was just skimming through.

Apparently, according to Akira, he had actually read a book that basically gave away a few tips and tricks to actually read faster while obtaining everything you need. Weiss did not believe his words, as it was her own opinion that such material should be read through in a thorough manner. Even when Akira explained how such skimming would work, Weiss was still sticking to her ideals.

Yawning, Weiss made sure to cover her mouth even though now one else was around to see. Stretching and groaning once more, she pushed her blanket off of her and proceeded to walk to the bathroom connected to her bedroom.

 **Break**

Weiss sighed to herself with pleasure as she had stepped out of the bathroom.

Feeling clean was a very large pleasure she was fortunate to be able to feel every morning after showering. Relieving if she should add too.

Looking through her wardrobe, she found a suitable outfit for the day. Quickly changing, she looked at herself in a mirror that was on her desk. Craning her head back and forth, she made sure to see that she looked fine at all angles. Slightly frowning a bit, she pulled out a brush from a drawer and worked on her hair.

Smoothing out the snow-white strands, she reached over and grabbed a metal tiara. Grabbing her hair so that it shaped out a ponytail at the back of her head, Weiss adjusted the accessory in her other hand in order to keep the hairstyle she had at the ready.

Silently criticizing herself once more, Weiss now nodded to herself in satisfaction at how she looked. Getting up to her feet, she proceeded to walk out of her room and into the hallway.

The vast empty path that she had grown used to after many years did not surprise her. As her footsteps echoed all over her, she still proceeded without any problems at all. As she arrived at a flight of stairs, she stepped down each and every step in a rhythmic stride. Reaching the ground floor, her trip to the dining room proceeded since it currently time for breakfast.

Walking past the library, she took a couple of steps forward when she suddenly found herself stopping in her own tracks. A frown of confusion grew on her face. Weiss then turned around and made her way back towards the library. In her sight was Akira sitting in a chair, a new book about Semblances and Aura if she remembered judging by the cover of the book in Akira's hands while Remnant's history was on the table next to him. The tome of knowledge that the boy was holding was open and Akira was actually reading it.

At that moment, Akira blinked and looked up from the subject he was currently studying on. He raised an eyebrow in her direction as he seemed puzzled. "Weiss?" He asked, leaning back slightly as if he were bewildered. "What are you doing up this late? I thought you said you were going to bed."

Weiss still stared, listening to what Akira had to say. "…Going to bed?" She questioned the boy as her own reply. She stepped forward. "Akira, it's currently eight o'clock." The female saw the male blink at her blankly. A bewildered feeling grew inside her. "In the morning?" Suddenly, a new thought then occurred to her while Akira tilted his head in a peculiar manner. "Have you been reading for the past 12 hours?"

Akira blinked once again. Craning his head to the side, he looked out of a window to see that there was light rather than the dark. As he opened his mouth, he sucked in air. "That's why I'm so tired and hungry…" He yawned quietly while seeming to be completely fascinated at the news he had just heard.

Her face morphed into an odd expression. "How did you lose track of time like that?" She asked, shaking her head as she found herself once more in a moment of disbelief related to Akira. "Didn't you at least find yourself the least bit tired?"

Akira shrugged his shoulders, closing the book that was currently in his hands. Putting it onto the table, he then took off his glasses to rub his eyes. "Trust me, time has always been something rather odd for me through my entire life." He then squinted while looking closer at his glasses to see if there were any smudges. "An example being from the current year. I once took a train to the shopping district in order to sell some treasures; then took another train after to the red-light district and it was like no time had passed at all. Yet another day I sat down at my desk to craft only one single lockpick and the entire afternoon was thrown out the proverbial window."

Watching Akira put his glasses back on, Weiss just continued to stare. The very fact that the black-haired male had casually said the words craft and lockpick stunned her. After rolling her eyes and turning around, she began to walk out of the library. She heard Akira get off of his seat and follow her. "If I didn't see you thrown out of that purple glyph portal yesterday, I would be having an even harder time comprehending what you claim."

"Most people would think I'd just be considered insane and not allow me to stay in their home to begin with." Akira only replied back, trailing right behind her.

"…Speaking of which…" Weiss found herself silent before speaking. She slowed down her words though as she began to consider not even finishing her sentence. But in the end, she decided to go through with it. "…How are you feeling?"

"…Well…" Akira said in a bit of thought. "My heart rate is normal. Blood pressure is fine. Aside from being tired and hungry at the moment, not that bad."

Weiss turned her head around immediately in the middle of Akira's answer. Her eyes were narrowed. "That's now what I'm talking about." She said with a hint of irritation. "I mean mentally." Her fingers were soon pressed to her head. "But I guess with you making witty remarks, you seem fine."

Akira instead wore a passive face. "Fine, yes." He answered. "But that is because that issue is not my main focus at the moment." Weiss looked surprised at his response. "My friends died because of me and I've been thrown away from my home." Akira shook his head while putting his hands behind his back. "Would it really be possible for anyone to feel okay after something like that? So, my attention is on other things."

"You're probably just suffering from survivor's guilt." Weiss remarked, folding her arms. "From what I can tell, what happened was not your fault. You knew the risks as well as them. Yet it was their choice to follow. Not only that, you were not the one to kill them. That was…" Weiss paused for a second to remember. "…This Yaldabaoth's doing. You shouldn't-."

"I was the one to lead them to their execution." Akira answered back immediately. "It may as well have been me to then have pulled the trigger to end their lives." He spread his arms out in a moment of frustration to emphasize his point. "Now, I would much appreciate it if you dropped the subject right now."

Weiss saw the sharp, curt nod of his head with a hard stare. It was as Akira said, he didn't want this conversation to continue on any further at the moment. Frozen with surprise from Akira's tiny outburst, she stared with her mouth open a bit. With a sigh and shake of her head, she did as he wanted and turned around in order to walk towards the dining room.

As Weiss took a seat, she saw Akira glance at her before pulling up a chair himself. As soon as they did, as if there were some sort of cue, Klein approached the two of them with a small trolley cart that had two covered plates on top. "Right on time, Miss Schnee." The butler greeted with a nod of his head. "Breakfast is served for you and… er…" He trailed off. "I'm sorry, I forgot your name already and. I don't mean to offend you or anything."

"Akira Kurusu." Akira reminded the butler, clearly remembering the character from last night.

It was indeed a sight, the servant extremely concerned for the girl who was letting him stay in this massive building for the time being. Weiss had managed to convince Klein to not let her dad know. While Akira did think that this was not going to be exactly possible since her dad should be able to roam the halls on his own, but that would be an issue when the time came. But in the end, the butler agreed to Weiss' request; albeit still rather hesitant.

"Of course, Mister Kurusu, apologies." Klein apologized once more, earning a nod of acknowledgement from Akira. The butler proceeded to put the plates down while taking the covers off right after. "Anything in particular to drink with your meal?"

"Coffee, the usual." Weiss answered. Klein nodded his head.

"Espresso, if that is okay." Akira replied, looking up towards the adult currently in their presences. Seeing Klein nod again while walking away, Akira felt a pair of eyes on him. "…You're staring." He stated, his eyes wandering tiredly around the grand area where they were eating.

"Are you sure you are okay?" Weiss asked. That got the boy to crane his head over to her with a deadpan expression. "I'm not talking about your… personal events this time." The female felt like she had to clarify this. "I'm talking about how you're not looking very good at the moment." She scrunched her face up while gesturing to many parts of his face in general with a single finger.

Akira scrunched his eyes up and rubbed some sleep out of them. "My appearance has only meant so much to me in my life." He replied, his hand up and shaking it around his face. "There are much more pressing matters rather than looks most of the time, so I choose to prioritize those as I've just explained."

Once again, Weiss gave Akira an mixed look. "You know, I am finding it extremely odd how your brain functions right now. If what you had just said wasn't enough, the fact of how you perceive time perhaps cements that very fact."

He shrugged his shoulder in response. "To each their own." Akira stated back as if it were a fact.

A couple of moments later, Klein came back with their requested drinks. As the beverages were distributed, Akira glanced over to Weiss' choice. Picking up his small cup of specific coffee, he took a small sip while the female took a gulp from her own. He then released an impressed hum. "This is very good." A statement was first before looking over to Klein. "What beans did you use?"

"Beans from Vacuo." The butler answered before walking away to tend to his duties.

Eyeing Akira warily, Weiss silently stared at him while taking small bites of her food. Chewing for a few second, she swallowed. Tilting her head as if observing a wild animal act about, her mouth was sealed shut for a few moments. After a while, she soon took a small breath. "About what you said earlier-"

"This is very delicious." Akira complimented, cutting Weiss off mid-sentence after he swallowed. "Is that pepper actually inside of the sausage? Hmm, good decision." He said to himself as he took another bite.

Narrowing her eyes at Akira, Weiss fumed in irritation as the boy continued to eat his meal. "Why did you do that just now?"

Looking up from his food, Akira had a blank look on his face. Continuing to chew, he eventually forced the food in his mouth down his throat. "Do what?" He asked, his hands continuing to clean the plate that was in front of him at the moment.

"You know what I'm talking about!" Weiss gestured both of her hands towards the black-haired male who sat right next to her. "Cutting me off rather than-"

"I'm finished eating." Akira suddenly stood up off of his chair, taking a final sip from his cup which seemed to annoy Weiss.

"Why-" Weiss looked over cut herself short when she saw Akira's plate already empty. All that remained were some crumbs, but all of the food was gone. Eyeing the blank dish before looking up to Akira, Weiss moved her jaw up and down and released a strangled sound for about a second. "H-how did you eat so fast?"

Akira shrugged his shoulders. "You consider 15 minutes fast? Me, it is a rather average time if I do say so myself." He then wore a muddled look while having a finger point back and forth between Weiss and her drink. "I think your drink has gone fairly cold right about now. Might I recommend that you forgo the whipped cream and chocolate shavings next time? You can truly appreciate coffee a lot more if you would choose to do that." He then gestured to the plate. "So, do I just leave my dishes here or…"

Listening to Akira the entire time, Weiss dumbly nodded her head in disbelief. Watching the boy walk back from where they had entered, Weiss turned back to look at her meal and then back to her drink. Hearing a door open soon, her eyes diverted upwards and saw Klein approaching her.

"Is… everything okay, Miss Schnee?" Her butler asked, making Weiss blink and snap out of her thoughts. "Anything else I can get you?"

"Y-yes, everything is good." Weiss nodded her head, raising the mug in her hand to her mouth. Taking a sip, her eye twitched when a lukewarm yet cold liquid filled her mouth. She was about to ask for another one, but then a thought came to her. "Actually… if it is okay with you, may I actually have the usual coffee but without the whipped cream and chocolate?"

If Klein was surprised, he didn't show it as he took the offered mug without hesitation. "Of course." He nodded his head and walked back to where Weiss knew was the direction of the kitchen.

Putting another forkful of food into her mouth, she wore a bit of a sour expression as she remembered that she had left it alone for about 15 minutes and now it was not as appealing as it was before.

After a couple of minutes of eating, Klein returned back with her new drink and put it right next to her. With a nod of thanks, Weiss picked up the drink and eyed it critically. Raising it to her lips after, she took a small sip. She shuddered at the taste as it was as she expected. It lacked the sweetness she was used to as there was more of a bitter flavor to it.

But… there was something else to it she couldn't put her finger on. Glancing down to her drink once more, her face grew a curious look before the female decided to take another sip.

 **Break**

Akira found himself staring at a portrait when he was wandering the halls of what he considered to be the mansion with a book from the library in hand.

Eyeing the picture, he couldn't decide if it was a photo or a painting. If it were a painting, he would be impressed by the amount of time the people had to stay still. But, according to the picture, there were three young children in front of two adults whom all sat in proper positions. He doubted that children of that age would be able to sit still for so long, so photo was his conclusion.

Akira recognized Weiss in that photo. He raised an eyebrow when he saw the expression that was worn on her face, guessing that she was not enjoying herself at that moment. The same could be said for the other female child at the opposite side of the picture. Even who he assumed to be the mother didn't look very happy, but that was perhaps because for a professional look.

But then the two males, which he assumed one was the father and the other was a little brother judging by the size and looks. Both seemed to be rather proud or happy in that picture. Those looks caused the eyebrow he had already raised to grow even higher up.

A question formed in Akira's head. Why did the females look a bit glum or sad while the males seemed content?

Hearing footsteps coming from the side, Akira turned his head over. Approaching him was a boy with white hair and light blue eyes with a fair complexion. His hair was mostly pushed to the left, although there was a cowlick. The attire the boy had on consisted of a short-sleeved white dress shirt, the sleeves fastened just above his elbows by navy blue cuffs, each with twin gold buttons. Over his untucked shirt he wore a light blue vest with a black handkerchief in his right breast pocket. He also wore a black necktie, navy blue trousers and black dress shoes.

With rather formal posture, the boy seemed to have a curious expression when his light blue eyes met Akira's grey ones. "So, you are the new guest the servants have been talking about." The boy stated lightly, pacing around Akira. The black-haired male kept the open book balanced in one hand the other behind his back while slowly watching himself be observed. "The one who my sister decided to help. Has she already taken a liking to you?" A teasing look grew on the face.

"Doubtful, especially considering the fact that we met just yesterday." Akira said simply with a blank look on his face, which made the other boy chuckle. He then extended his free hand. "Akira Kurusu." His greeting was curt but polite.

"Whitley Schnee, a pleasure to meet you." The white-haired male smiled while shaking the hand that was offered with his own. "I hear that you are not from Atlas, Vale, Mistral, nor Vacuo. Does that mean you have grown up from outside of the Kingdoms?" He then asked curiously, having one hand cup his chin while the other support the elbow of the former hand.

Akira wracked his brain in a single second for the answer. He mentally patted himself on the back reading up on Remnant's history. Albeit it was at the cost of sleep, but he could easily do that later. He at least had the basics down. "Yes, that is very much correct."

Whitley curled his lips down in interest. "Fascinating." He stated, still taking in Akira's appearance. "Father always said that people from outside the Kingdoms are barbaric, yet… you seem to be something completely different."

Like that, Akira's opinion of the father began to plummet like a stone in water. Granted, Akira shouldn't judge on words alone. But sometimes words held their truth, so he was going to keep such a sentence in his mind. "I get that a lot." Akira nodded his head in agreement, his face being rather straight despite almost taking an insult straight to his face.

The younger male seemed to have noticed this and hummed. He then noticed the book that was in Akira's hand. "Oh?" He leaned forward to get a better look at the text that the taller male was holding. "Is that a book from the library? What is it that you are reading about at the moment?"

Akira gazed at Whitley, as if trying to figure out what was making the boy tick. "Just a book about Semblances and Aura." Akira answered, staying perfectly still despite Whitely beginning to move closer into his personal space. "It's basic, but I think such fundamentals are good to brush up on."

"Oh, most agreeable." Whitley chuckled, standing up straight once more and folding his arms behind his back. "It is a pity that many people forget about such."

The black-haired male looked up to the ceiling in thought as it slowly began to occur to him. "Might I ask where you were during breakfast?" Akira asked, craning his head around back to Whitley. "Seeing as there is a family portrait here, I thought that it would be good to eat with such a group. But it was odd that it was just Weiss and I in the dining room."

"Ah, you see, that's a rather complicated issue." Whitley answered Akira's question rather easily. "I woke up earlier than usual, so I decided to have my breakfast at that moment which was before Weiss. Winter however just… Oh, that's right!" He suddenly snapped his head back with realization. "You don't know the names of our family members. How silly of me."

Akira switched the book to his other hand quietly and listened intently.

"Winter Schnee is our eldest sister." Whitley explained, pointing to the female on the bottom left side of the picture. "She wanted to either become a huntress or join the Atlesian army; I could never remember which it is. Because of this, she had just joined Atlas Academy about three years ago and has resided in their dorms. Father is constantly busy with work so he doesn't eat with us. As for Mother…" Whitely paused and looked up while tapping his chin in thought. "…She's occupied with other things as well most of the time."

"…I see." Akira said, face scrunched up a bit in thought. "You seem rather open in telling me these things related to your family."

"Well, these are not very secret among Atlas and Remnant. Winter is already famous – or infamous – due to her status. Father is the head of the Schnee Dust Company as well. Mother meanwhile is known to be very occupied with her own things." Whitley then snapped his fingers as if he remembered something after his explanations. "Oops, it's almost time for my classes." He said in realization before smiling. "It's been a pleasure talking to you, Akira. Perhaps we will be able to chat some other time."

"Maybe." Akira answered while nodding his head. Whitely nodded back and began to walk away and turn a corner.

All alone once more, Akira looked down the hall where Whitley went down. At the mention of lessons, he actually was now curious about what Weiss was leaning about. That is, if she was having classes at the same time. Weiss' education came to mind because she was the one who was much closer to his age, therefore her academic level being possibly close to his.

Walking down the hall, he also kept an eye on the book he was reading. It was a rather interesting subject, Aura and Semblances. A supernatural shield that also fueled a power depending on the person. Aside from the shield part, the Semblance sounded similar to a Persona in theory.

He would attempt to clarify that with Weiss, but then he didn't mention anything about Personas during his confession. Plus, it was a theory that could go unsolved for all he cared at the moment.

Flipping through the pages, he soon began to hear the sound of metal hitting something. Looking up from the book, Akira looked around and stared in a general direction from where he thought the sound was coming from. Walking towards that door, he shut the book in his hand and slowly opened the barrier.

Inside was a rather large room. The walls and floor were lined with metal but there were also light blue circuit designs decorating such surfaces. Keeping his eyes at normal level though, he saw Weiss running around while avoiding an adult seeming to attack her. Akira was surprised at the sudden sight before his eyes.

Weiss was holding some kind of rapier in her hand. The rather odd thing about the weapon was there was a six-chamber magazine like a revolver that each held different colors. Raising the weapon in a stance as she held it in her left hand, Weiss spun around as she advanced forward.

But the older figure raised a metal rod vertically and blocked Weiss' swipe. Retracting her rapier quickly, Weiss tried a diagonal slash from her right shoulder downwards before spinning around to do the same thing. Both attack were deflected easily by her opponent. With her body bent forward from the second slash, Weiss tried to go for a stab.

But the adult kicked the sword away with their foot. Using the momentum behind their attack, the person spun around with a swing of their equipped arm. Weiss raised her weapon to block the attack, but she didn't have enough arm strength as her guard was broken through. The adult continued to use the same momentum to swing their arm around again.

Weiss quickly managed to recover though, and this time held her other hand up in order to properly guard against the incoming swing. Pushing against the rod her opponent used away, she tried to horizontally slash the adult. But the older person jumped up at the same time and avoided the sharp edges of her weapon.

When the adult landed on the ground, the tried to attack Weiss' legs right away. The girl was quick enough to block the swing with her rapier pointed vertically to the ground. Swinging upwards, Weiss missed since the adult rolled backwards and up to their feet. As she tried to go for an overhead slash next, her attack was blocked by the rod which was held up above the adult's head. Weiss then felt a pair of feet slam right against her stomach as she reeled backwards upon impact.

Weiss looked down at herself quickly before bringing her eyes back up. Her previous action proved to by a massive mistake as the adult was in her face right away. Having to face an onslaught of swings, Weiss concentrated as much as she could in order to only guard against each attack. Thinking she saw an opening, she tried to strike with a stab.

Her piercing attack was deflected however just so that it missed the adult's face. With the older figure's back towards Weiss, they snapped their right foot up and the heel struck Weiss right against her stomach. Coughing while bending forward, Weiss let her guard down and felt the bottom of another foot kick her to the ground.

Coughing, Weiss placed her hands on the floor in an attempt to get back up. A loud noise immediately echoed through her ear and caused her to freeze in response. Slowly turning her head over to where she heard the sound, there was the same metal rod planted right on the floor.

"Not bad, Miss Schnee." The instructor complimented with a neutral gaze. Pushing back on her weapon, she walked backwards a bit so the item was at a 45 degree angle. She watched as Weiss grabbed the weapon before pulling the younger female back up. "But you've been at this for two years yet there is something you lack. Take a five minutes break to think about it before we continue."

Weiss nodded her head, panting at bit in fatigue. But still, it confused her to what her instructor meant. What was it she was lacking? She was doing everything she was taught to by the adult and her sister. Walking over to a wall where a small table was set up with a chair while thinking, she noticed Akira standing around the exit of the room. "What are you doing here?" She asked in a bit of surprise.

"I just so happened to meet your brother, Whitely, a few moments ago." Akira answered straightly before his eyes wandered the room. He then gazed at the rapier in Weiss hand. "I am going to assume that this is not just a simple exercise room."

Weiss took in a deep breath to ease her panting. "You read up on Remnant's history, correct?"

"Yes."

"Then you are aware of hunters and huntresses?" Weiss' question sounded more like a statement.

Akira answered with a nod of his head. "Licensed elite warriors dedicated to slaying the creatures of Grimm and whose duty is to uphold the peace of the world. Rather shaky on the upholding peace part in my opinion." He rocked a hand back and forth to make his point, yawning the paragraph he had read last night.

Weiss frowned at that last comment Akira made, placing her rapier into a case that was sitting on the table. She folded her arms while keeping her body faced towards the boy. "And what makes you say that?" Her expression just challenging Akira to make a point.

"Corruption eventually grows whenever too much power goes to one's head." Akira shrugged his shoulders, forming his hand to imitate the shape of a gun. Lifting the fingers, he pointed the imitated barrel to the side of his head. "No society is perfect as there will always be a problem. Even if it's a wild guess and I may be wrong, I believe that it would only take a matter of time for my opinion to happen."

The female sighed while shaking her head, using a hand to support the skull. "Again, let me say just how incredible yet completely impossible your mind functions." Rolling her eyes, she folded her arms again. "Speaking of how your mind functions, there is still a subject you have yet to-"

"Is that Dust inside of your rapier?" Akira suddenly asked, looking over towards the chambers connected to the finesse weapon. Stepping over, he leaned forward to get a better view. "Interesting, I've only read about Dust so you'll have to excuse my high curiosity."

Weiss now wore disbelief all over her face. "Why do you keep doing that?" She raised her hands up to gesture towards him before slapping them down to her sides.

"Do what?" Akira asked, not even looking back towards her while looking at the chambers at different angles.

"This!" Weiss shook her hands in exasperation. "You keep cutting me off every time I try to bring up the subject about you and this Earth world!" She suddenly sharply pointed a finger in Akira's direction when she saw him open his mouth. "Don't even think about it." Her warning was curt before continuing. "This is not healthy for you at all!" A deep breath filled her lungs before exhaling to try and calm herself down. "Look, I'm just trying to help you."

"And it is very much appreciated." Akira responded back quickly, but not in a manner to cut Weiss off. In fact, it was more as if he were agitated. "However, right now, it is completely unnecessary. At the moment, I believe that I should be less focused on a form of rehab and more attention to learning the ins and outs of this world." He pushed the book that was still in his hands in front of Weiss' face for more emphasis. His eyes narrowed into a disagreeable look. "I will accept your help when the time comes."

"And when will that be?" Weiss remarked, jutting her hip out while her hands rested on her waist while challenging Akira. "A day? Weeks? Months? Years?! Akira, you can't have that sort of luxury! This is an issue I think you should have taken care of as soon as possible!" She shoved the book and his hand out of her face

"I'll be sure to keep your opinion in mind then!" Akira raised his voice back in response, snapping the literature in his hands shut. The noise that came was deafening in their conversation. A frown twisted onto his lips. "But when I face such issues is when I choose! This is my own problem, not yours! So I would very much appreciate that you keep quiet about it!"

Weiss stepped back, startled at the volume Akira had suddenly burst out. Hanging her jaw open for a bit, she huffed in frustration. "Fine." She hissed out, turning around back to the center of the room. "But you are making a huge mistake."

Silently, Akira watched Weiss seemingly storm away from him. A sigh escaped his nostrils. Raising a hand to rub his face, Akira massaged his forehead until he put back on his usual neutral gaze. Not even looking back towards Weiss. Pivoting on his heels quickly, he swiftly left the room while quickly leafing through the book to the page he was previously on.

But as soon as he reached the spot, he found his mind to be unfocused. Groaning to himself, he closed the book. Feeling like he probably had done enough reading after more than about 12 hours, Akira now had a destination in his head rather than mindless wandering. Going towards the library, he was quick to put the book about Aura and Semblances back onto the shelf.

Rubbing his eyes, he felt the fatigue from the lack of sleep beginning to take over. But he still refused to fall asleep at the moment, especially with caffeine inside of his system.

Weiss' words stuck in his mind. Scratching the top of his head, Akira then shook his skull around as if it were to help him get rid of the thoughts. Continuing to sit in silence for a few more minutes, Akira looked up and towards the door of the library. Maybe just a walk around the building would help.

Getting up to his feet, the black-haired male allowed himself directed without any specific places in mind or to find. It was during his walk he began to notice just how much white and blue occupied the entire building. It was almost he were inside some sort of asylum for the criminally insane.

"But… ma'am, it is almost noon and yet-"

"I don't care, Klein. When I've had enough, that's when I ill stop. But for now, fetch me another bottle please."

"… Of course, ma'am…"

Hearing voices, Akira stopped in his tracks. Craning his head to the right slowly, he saw a single white door just next to him. Akira suddenly felt an instinct to keep himself hidden as he swiftly pressed himself against a part of the wall next to the door but was a bit deeper, so it provided a small gap. Hearing the door creak open, Akira didn't risk peeking.

Hearing footsteps walk away, Akira peered around the wall to see that Klein was walking away and down the hall. Slowly stepping away from his hiding place, he looked over and kept an eye on the door that he saw a few seconds ago. Quietly walking over, he stopped when something made his nose twitch.

Sniffing, Akira's nostrils burned a bit due to the strong scent of alcohol invading his senses. Scrunching up his face, he moved a single foot forward. Leaning closer, he heard a voice. Well… more of a whimper or cry.

One that belonged to a female.

Akira immediately felt something bubble inside of him while his heart sank at the same time. He then suddenly swallowed as several things snapped into his mind at the same time. The first one was rather than alcohol in the situation, it was something else.

The next ones were more related to much more recent events. Yesterday, words from Weiss came to him. About how she knew he looked lonely because she too has seen that look too many times. Then there was today, about what Whitely revealed about the family.

It was an assumption, but Akira ran on these a lot whenever evidence show themselves. Pressing his finger gently against the door with minimum force, he slowly traced the flesh along the wood as if he were longing for something. A look of pity and sorrow formed on his face, for no one to see at the moment. But that didn't stop Akira.

Dropping his hand to his side, the black-haired male turned around as if something was calling to him. Moving towards the window that was across from him, he looked down towards the ground that was covered in snow.

 **Break**

Weiss grew even more frustrated when she flipped through a bunch of flash cards she was studying from.

Irritation plagued her mind despite the attempt of distracting her from a negative emotion. Scratching the top of her head as it itched, she harshly flicked through another card when she got the answer the card provided wrong in her head. Slapping the mentally unanswered cards down onto the table in front of her, Weiss buried her face into her hands.

Akira's dilemma was irking her with every passing minute. She didn't know why her mind just refused to let the issue be. After all, it was his own problem. But it also frustrated her that she refused to accept that fact. She tried to offer help; he refused it. That conflict should be done within seconds.

But Weiss was having an inner debate whether or not she should let it go. Akira was a completely mixed bag of emotions and events, Weiss would almost now officially say one of the most appropriate words to describe him would be unpredictable. That was not a good thing at all.

Huffing to herself, she leaned back against her chair before taking a deep breath. Exhaling, Weiss tried to calm her nerves. Looking up when hearing a pair of footsteps, she blinked when she saw who it was. "Hello, Whitley."

"Greetings, dear sister." Her younger brother nodded his head with a smile. "I've heard that you have allowed a stranger to live in our home." His statement sounded far too pleasant, as if he were finding the entire thing amusing.

"Yes… I have…" Weiss answered slowly, in a slightly annoyed manner at the mere thought of Akira as it reminded her of the small issue she was having with him. But then it occurred to her which made her face lighten up with curiosity. "You seem rather… cheery today."

"That's because I already have met such stranger." Whitley put his hand to his chest while rolling his shoulders back. "Akira Kurusu is such a curious yet already entertaining character."

"If you say so." The female muttered to herself unconvinced, lifting up her flashcards again.

"It is also very kind of you, sister." Whitley added. "I mean, this person must have been quite interesting for you to invite living with us. Without asking any of your family members I might throw in as well." He shrugged his shoulders. "Still, I have a feeling that he will indeed be a character I may take a liking to. Maybe."

"Good for you." Weiss stated curtly, mentally wishing for Whitely to drop the subject.

"By the way, Father asked me to pass a message onto you."

That one sentence brought Weiss mind to a screeching halt. As if a rusty machine, Weiss slowly moved her eyes away from her cards to look at Whitley. "…What?" She asked slowly.

"Father asked me to pass a message onto you." Whitley repeated himself before tilting his head. "Is there something wrong with that?"

"N-no…" Weiss stuttered just a bit. "There is nothing wrong at all." She shook her head. "What does Father want?"

"I'm not sure." Her brother shrugged his shoulders. "He said that it was an issue that was only meant for your ears alone." His hand was held out as if offering something to Weiss. "Unfortunately, since he is busy, he says he wants you in his office in two hours."

"…Thank you, Whitley." Weiss nodded her head slowly. But at the same time, a couple of questions ran through her head. What did her father want to talk to her about? Why didn't he ask her personally? Her father had the time to ask Whitley to tell her, so why didn't the adult-male take that time to speak to her? In Weiss' opinion, she had a schedule which allowed her to be tracked down easily through the household.

Her younger brother nodded his head swiftly before spinning around on his heels. Taking one step forward, Whitley paused before turning back around to look at Weiss. "Actually, Weiss, could you perhaps tell me where Akira is? I would like to have another conversation with him."

That made Weiss frown. Where was Akira at the moment anyways?

 **Break**

Staring at the ground covered in snow, Akira remembered.

That one spot were his eyes were fixed was where Weiss had first found him. The one place that he could say was his closest to home in a sense. Bending his knees, he trailed his fingers through the snow and formed letters. M. R. A. Y. M. F. H. A. Each of them were simple yet were so special. Morgana. Ryuji. Ann. Yusuke. Makoto. Futaba. Haru. Akechi. After that, he started to trace more letters. T. O. C. I. S. M. H. Y. K. S. Takemi. Ohya. Chihaya. Iwai. Sojiro. Mishima. Hifumi. Yoshida. Kawakami. Shinya.

After finishing his tracing, he looked over towards the first set he had made. Akira then looked over to the latest letters. Keeping both sets in his sights, he did nothing but stare. Like a statue, Akira stayed very still. The snow above him continued to fall without any problem, eventually burying the markings he had made after who knows how much time had passed.

A shaky breath then escaped his lips when he exhaled. He could see the pattern just due to the cold air mixing with the warm element that he released. Standing up, he dragged his feet through the snow. It was like several weights had suddenly been placed onto his body when he tried to move. Sluggishly feeling the cold continue to fall on him with every passing second until he finally reached a single tree that was right next to the spot.

Putting his right palm against the wood, Akira put his entire weight forward and placed his forehead against the back of his hand. Inhaling and exhaling deeply, he silently stood in that position while his mind drifted all around the subject of the Phantom Thieves and everyone else back on Earth.

"…I am such an idiot…"

 **Break**

The sky was already getting dark when Akira entered the large building after his time outside.

Shaking his hair when he went inside, he made sure that he got rid of all of the snow that had piled up in the wavy substance. While vibrating his head at such a violent speed, Akira took his coat off. Walking over to where he remembered a closet was. Hanging the clothing up, Akira turned around and began to head in a certain direction.

His footsteps now held a bit more of a purpose as he stridden through the path that was already fixed. Continuing his walk, he eventually found someone who he was looking for. Where they were however was a bit of a surprise to him.

"…What do you want?" Weiss asked curtly after a brief moment of staring, looking forward and away from Akira's sight. She was seated on a small bench that was set up right next to a door.

Akira blinked at the response he got due to his presence being right next to her. But he understood why she acted a bit cold towards him. He did act like quiet a bad person a few hours ago.

"…I want to say… I'm sorry for what I said and how I have acted." Akira held his hand out limply as if he were attempting a handshake. "It's just…" He looked down, trying to find the right words in thought. "At that moment, I did not want to look back in shame and be hurt. Pain can make people not think straight. A fear of pain however… that's even worse. Know now that… I am going to follow your recommendation. But it will be mixed in with my studying. So, in the end… there will be a balance."

Weiss folded her arms, listening intently yet was unimpressed. "Am I supposed to accept your apology?" She asked with her eyebrow raised.

Her expression changed to a bit of surprise when Akira shook his head. "No, you don't have to." He answered with mixed face. Akira then took a step closer to Weiss. "I began to remember what you told me yesterday… and I've come to an understanding to why you said all of that because of today."

"…" The white-haired female unconsciously swallowed at what Akira was implying.

"I understand why you possibly feel as you do…" Akira looked down to his feet. "I too have had… a familiar experience." That was when Akira leaned forward so his face was on the same level as Weiss but remained a bit of distance between them. "Which is why I would like you to know that the offer you have given… it also extends from me to you." He held his hand out while the words exited his mouth.

Taken aback, Weiss' face now had surprise all over her face. Her jaw dropped a bit at the sudden words that Akira had to offer. Running the sentence through her head, she eventually formed a response. "…Why? I don't even know you."

"You don't know me either." Akira shook his head. "As for why you ask… why not?" He shrugged his shoulders.

A new response came quicker than the previous one. "That's not a very good reason." She responded dully.

"I can't always have those." Akira answered back, straightening his back. Exhaling loudly through his mouth, he looked back to Weiss and saw that she was silently staring at him. After a moment of no sound between them, it then occurred to him. "So, what are you doing sitting here alone anyways?" He eyed her curiously.

The question snapped Weiss back to reality. "I… I'm waiting for my father." She answered. "He said that he to talk to me and that I was to meet him at his office."

Akira nodded his head. "I see."

But Weiss looked away with her face falling. "…That was supposed to be two hours ago…"

"…" Akira chose not to respond, as he thought something like that will be appropriate at the moment. His hands continued to dangle at his sides while eyed Weiss gently. "…Do you think he will show up soon? At all?"

She folded her hands together and stared at the floor. "…I don't know." She shook her head. "But to answer your other question…" Her voice trailed off, as if she had lost the words that would have escaped her lips. Weiss then swallowed. "…No." She admitted with a whisper when exhaling.

Hearing her fall silent, Akira looked to his right. He then eyed his left. In both directions that he turned to, there was no sound or indication that anyone was approaching their area anytime soon. Bringing Weiss back into his vision, he took in the almost vulnerable position she was in at the moment.

Stepping forward, Akira turned around and sat his bottom down on the bench where Weiss was sitting. None of them spoke a word at all. Quietly, the two of them stayed sitting next to one another. The white-haired female kept her vision fixed onto the floor, coming to terms about something. The male-with black hair meanwhile had his eyes locked onto the window that was across from the two of them.

Despite them being as still and quiet as statues, there was a comforting feeling and a silent thank you.

 **Break**

Akira was feeling extremely tired now.

Weiss had left the spot next to him in favor of having to eat dinner a few minutes ago. Akira said that he would catch up with her due to needing some time to think. Rubbing his face, he shook his head to do his best to try and remain conscious.

"…And who are you?"

Looking up, Akira moved his face to see a man with gray-white hair and a pale complexion. He had a large gray mustache, and his eyes were a cold blue color. The adult had on a pure white double-breasted jacket with a red handkerchief in the breast pocket. Underneath all of that was a blue shirt and vest with a gray-white tie. Below to cover his legs were trousers that were colored to match his jacket. For an accessory, there was a silver ring on his right hand.

Blinking, Akira rose up from his sitting position. "Akira Kurusu." He folded his hands behind his back while nodding his head curtly. The boy then scanned the white-haired man once more. "I take it that you are Weiss and Whitley's father."

"Jacques Schnee." The man introduced himself, his eyes narrowing a bit. "So, you are the boy from outside of the Kingdom whom my daughter has decided to help."

"Word travels fast in this household." Akira only commented.

"Hmm…" The man only responded with. "Speaking of which, have you seen my daughter? I told her that she was supposed to be at my office." He looked around as if expecting her to arrive at any moment. "So why is it that she has not come here yet?"

Akira's lips dropped down slightly into a frown. This man had his daughter wait for him for nearly four and a half hours on the very spot he was on a few seconds ago. Either Jacques had a bad sense of time, or he lived in his own world. Akira decided to go with the latter. Especially since he began to understand the man's character just a bit more with his most recent interaction with Weiss.

It wasn't much, but Akira was rolling with what he had.

The black-haired male decided not to answer Jacques' question. Instead, Akira decided to ask his own. "I remember seeing your picture from a few years ago, just down the hall." He pointed to where he remembered. "You look as spry as the day that was taken."

If Jacques was surprised, he didn't show it. Instead, the man puffed his chest out in a bit of pride. "Thank you."

Akira nodded his head in acknowledgement. "My compliments to the virgins whose blood you bathe in."

Spinning around on his heels, not even bothering to see Jacques' reaction, Akira made his way down the hall to the dining room for some dinner before going to sleep. He was extremely tired after all.

 **No flames please.**


	5. Chapter 5

**This is a fanfic. BUY THE FUCKING MERCHANDISE!**

Both Akira and Weiss were in the library with books that interested them.

Since the day Akira appeared on Weiss' property, the boy seemed content to stay around her home rather than go out and explore the world. Though this seemed to contradict the frizzy haired boy's nature, as he seemed to have curiosity that would mirror a cat's. An odd thing in Weiss' opinion.

The monochrome duo continued to read in silence, the only sound heard detectable rustling of paper. Though the tension was nothing serious Weiss felt it prudent to break it in some way.

"…So how has finding help been going for you?" She surprised even herself when she asked the question slowly. "Are you at least taking the time to compose yourself?"

"…" Akira's eyes drifted up from the words and images that were provided for him in favor of looking at the white-haired girl. "…No, I haven't. To be honest, I'm not sure where, or how to pull myself together…"

Weiss then looked up from her own book, her surprise grew even larger. Akira's answer seemed so… awkward and clumsy. Not his actual words, but the way that he said them. Whenever he spoke, it was as if he were calculating what to say due to there being a slight bit of confidence behind his speaking.

"But I can tell you that… I am feeling a bit better…" Akira then brought his head up fully and nodded. "Not particularly great however, but enough to be… sufficient. At least for now, despite your urges." He continued to sound a bit awkward, almost as if he did want to talk about it but just didn't know how to word it. "While it's not that bad, I still… feel guilty that the Phantom Thieves died, and I was the one to survive. It makes me wonder… do they hate me?"

His then paused, keeping full eye contact with Weiss. Blinking after several seconds of being stared at, she pointed at herself. "Y-you want my opinion?" She asked her tone colored with surprise and confusion.

The former thief only nodded his head.

Opening her mouth slightly, Weiss thought to herself for a moment. While the heiress did want to question him, she knew her wording wouldn't be very helpful when he so clearly needed someone to say something. "…Well… I'm not the person you should be asking in all honesty." She started off slowly, prodding carefully. "After all, I never met them, only heard what they were like from you. If I had to answer… then, I would answer no. From what I can understand, they knew the risks. Yet they moved right behind you without despite the risks and without second thoughts. Despite your… personality, and from what I can think… no, they don't hate you. However, I think they would be annoyed by you thinking so pessimistically."

Listening to Weiss' evaluation, Akira felt the surprise crawl out of his body and onto his face. He then released it all with a chuckle and an amused exhale from his nostrils a second later. Nodding his head in understanding, he then looked back down to his book.

Due to that sound, it caused the girl to stare while taking a good look at the boy. It made her curious why he found her answer so amusing. During her observation, she noticed something odd about his person, walking up to confront the boy about it. "…Akira, how long have you been wearing that outfit?"

Weiss' mildly disturbed tone brought the boy out of his reading focus to bring his attention to back to his hostess. The raven-haired teen had to look up considering how he was sitting down inside the rather comfortable chair with his tri-tailed long coat folded at the top of the furniture.

Taking exactly a single second to process Weiss' words, Akira looked down to see that he was wearing his Phantom Thief outfit, it took it but a moment to give a proper answer. "About seven or eight days ago if I recall." He answered bluntly. "It is the only clothes I have on me right now."

"…What?!" Weiss asked incredulously, sounding like she couldn't believe what she was hearing. Well, she could due to the boy having been around the house for nearly a full week now. But just hearing it and the way Akira delivered his answer was crazy.

"It's not an issue right now." Akira waved dismissively before looking back to the book that was in his hands.

But while raising the hard-covered object, he saw a hand grab the top of the book and pull it down so that Weiss was in his view again. "Yes, it is!" Weiss exclaimed. "Here you are, sitting in week-worn clothing, perhaps reeking and or stewing in your sweat grime and – ugh – a-and you choose to read!"

"The first accusation is not entirely true. As for your second comment, I'm reading something very important." Akira commented, pointing to the cover of the book. Slipping his free hand underneath Weiss' fingers, he then pushes them off, so she couldn't interrupt his reading further. "I am familiarizing myself with the technology of Remnant, I think would be considered absolutely vital information to anyone looking to live a life here."

Weiss sighed in exasperation, deciding not to bother asking any further since she concluded it would get her nowhere. Shaking her head at the same time, she walked over to her original seat. Plopping herself right down into the chair with a huff, she opened the book which she used for studying.

While Weiss sat in silence, Akira looked up from his material. Staring at the girl just staring at her book in a bit of irritated concentration. Blinking, Akira appraised at his attire. "…You know, maybe it would be a good idea to go out and get some new clothes."

Hearing his answer clearly, she didn't really look up. "…Good for you." Weiss nodded, a bit satisfied that Akira was at least getting out into the open rather than staying cooped up inside of her home, it would be good for him to get some fresh air.

That didn't stop her from rolling her eyes at the attitude he had shown her, and it did irk her a bit that he didn't want to go before.

"Would you like to join me?"

Her eyes moved from the book right towards Akira when he asked that question. She gave him a weird look. "…I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" She asked, not believing what she heard while leaning forward by a bit as if it would aid her hearing.

"Would you like to join me?"

…She had to admit, his sudden invitation caught her off-guard. When she became a teenager, a variety of people from a diversity of companies and corporations tried to engage her with an heir to said various establishments. Every time, an heir would attempt to woo or impress the heiress. Simply put, she wasn't interested in them.

Those people made their invitations and attempts sound rehearsed, interested in a prize rather than her. Akira's proposal was… natural. It was genuine curiosity and was offered with good intention. Unlike the others where it was a desperate plea or arrogant demand.

Not only that, but his sudden change in attitude threw more fuel into that fire of confusion.

Looking down at her book again, she contemplated her decision of how she should answer. "…Why do you ask?" Weiss questioned, satisfied in choosing not to make eye contact with Akira.

"It's good for you be able to go outside and get some fresh air rather than staying cooped up inside of your home." Akira answered straight and honestly.

"…" A sigh escaped her mouth. That was the exact same thing she had been thinking of when Akira decided to go shopping and now he verbally clarified her own words against her. For some reason, it ground her gears together that he reversed her thoughts back at her, even if he didn't know. "I'll come along. You don't know much of Atlas after all, so it probably for the best that I accompany you."

"Wonderful." Akira put the book down onto a table that was next to him. "Shall we depart immediately?"

With a nod of his head, Akira swiftly stood up onto his feet. But while he did, his coat slid off the chair and collapsed onto the ground. Bending over, he picked up the piece of clothing but then an object came tumbling out of one of the pockets.

When the object clattered onto the ground, it caught Weiss' attention. She then remembered seeing something like that when she and Klein had first searched Akira while he was unconscious. "Akira," Saying his name had the boy look up while reaching over to the item that had fallen. "What is that?"

Akira blinked when he picked it up before looking at it. "It's a phone." He said, bringing his vision back towards Weiss.

"A phone that sma-?" Weiss stopped herself in the middle of her sentence, realizing something. A device that small and Akira named it a phone were the two main points that rang in her head. Closing her mouth, she held a finger up to indicate that she was going to continue. Taking in a deep breath, she then proceeded. "Akira, do you know what a scroll is?"

The boy raised an eyebrow. "Are you referring to the roll of papyrus, parchment, or paper containing writing?" He asked, pocketing his phone.

Weiss gave Akira a peculiar look. "Wha-... How-... What do those ancient things have to do with what I'm talking about?"

"You tell me." Akira replied. "What does that have to do with my phone or relate to the general topic of mobile devices?"

Oh… Mobile devices… That certainly confirmed and cleared things up. Grabbing her scroll that was on a table, she walked over to Akira while passing the device to the boy. "This is a scroll." She said in a matter-of-fact as the boy took the electronic out of her hands. "It's a device with a collapsible holographic screen that can extend to different sizes to suit the activities we wish to perform."

Looking over the object, it seemed to be nothing more than a white chunk with a yellow diamond at the middle. Curiously tapping the diamond, the object suddenly opened and revealed a screen with several apps being shown. "Hmm… I can now see why you asked me your question." He noted, eyeing the item curiously. "This is like a cellphone almost everyone uses back on Earth. Although with you saying it can extend to different sizes means that it can also serve as a tablet…"

"If you need to close it, just press your finger on the yellow diamond and push both white ends together." Weiss notified the boy.

Doing as he was told, the electronic collapsed into the shape it first was when Weiss had handed it over to him. "…Huh." He said in an impressed manner, starting to repeatedly open and close the device. "So that's why you call it a scroll."

Weiss watched with a flat gaze while Akira still played around with what belonged to her. "…Can I have my scroll back?" She asked.

Shutting the object closed, Akira looked over to Weiss for a second before handing it back silently.

"Okay then, that's two things I'm going to have to do today… No, wait, make that three." Akira clapped his hands together before letting them dangle freely, the arms swinging back and forth due to this action. "Get myself a scroll and the buy some clothing. It should be easy enough." He then lifted a finger. "But first, I need to go and sell off a few of my coins and gems."

The white-haired female raised an eyebrow and folded her arms. "Why would you need to do that?"

"Well, unless you're going to pay for everything, I need to get some money to buy such things myself." Akira answered, rubbing his index finger and thumb together many times while holding that hand up to eye level. "Are you going to pay for me? Maybe even contribute a limited value?" Seeing Weiss shake her head, he nodded in acceptance and to acknowledge his point was made. "Right, let's get going then. Come on."

As the boy began walking off and exiting the library without a single pause, he left Weiss standing in the middle of the room. But rather than be annoyed or mad, she just stared at the door. "…Do you even know where to go for something like that?" She called out.

A few seconds later, Akira came walking back into the library with a blank look on his face.

Weiss sniffed. "That's what I thought." She deadpanned as she took the lead out of the library.

 **Break**

Selling Akira's treasures went off without any problems whatsoever.

In fact, things worked a little too well and fast for her.

When they had arrived at the counter and Akira asked the person helping them how much it would be for about several jagged-edged gold coins that he placed out onto the surface. The worker eyed each coin properly, seeing if they were indeed the genuine thing. After confirming they were all solid gold and weighing them all, the person offered a price.

Akira accepted the offer, not caring about the alarmed expression Weiss had. While the worker took the coins and went to the back to grab the proper amount of money, she questioned Akira as to why he didn't at least try bargaining for a better deal. Akira answered by saying that there was no point since he was already getting one.

According to him, one of those kinds of coins where he went sold for 5,000 yen (he also added in that yen was the name of his country's currency). Akira stated that he assumed that the money in Remnant, lien, was like the value of the American dollar (which was another type of currency) due to the prices of the various items inside the shop. Converting yen to dollars, one would take the yen amount and divide by 100 to roughly get the estimated amount. Which meant that back in Japan, he would be getting about $50 for every coin of that nature.

But if there had to be pure specification, he last remembered the exchange rate being a ratio of 1 to 112.21. So it would actually be similar to $44.56 (or lien) back at home.

Considering the quality and quantity of the items he was pawning, it was actually a steal in his opinion in the land of Remnant. Sure, all the gold coins of that type were gone. But it was a good amount of cash that would be lining his pockets in the end of it.

As they had walked out, they climbed into the limo and Weiss told the driver where to head next. While they rode, the female took out her scroll to see the time. It absolutely surprised her when she discovered that the exchange had been less than 30 minutes despite that worker taking his time to inspect each individual coin.

She then began to remember Akira's words about how time was odd for him.

Weiss thought up of a hypothesis that Akira was simply efficient when he did something. Although she wondered if that were true. He did mention one time he crafted a single lockpick mid-afternoon and it was nighttime before he knew it.

Suddenly, the car came to a halt and the driver notified that they had arrived at their destination. That announcement was a surprise to her as she whipped her head around to see that they were indeed in front of the desired electronics store. Weiss at least expected the drive to be ten minutes long and yet they arrived in about a quarter of the time.

She took back her previous hypothesis. Maybe time did work strangely when Akira was around.

Hearing the door open, she saw that Akira had climbed out of the limo. As she shuffled to the opening, she saw Akira offer his hand to her. Raising an eyebrow at the gesture, she still took it and Akira helped her out of the vehicle.

While Akira shut the door, Weiss had already began walking to the doors of the store. Akira followed shortly after and they both entered.

A plethora of scrolls (cellphones in Akira's mind) greeted their vision. Everything was extremely neat and tidy. They were organized in different counters for shoppers to view and even test out if they desired. But that was only the first floor. There was a second floor where a bit more people seemed to populate and carrying boxes around which they both suspected to be computers.

There was one glaring thing however to the male.

"…Does Atlas really love the colors white, blue, and grey or is it just me?" Akira asked, looking over to Weiss. The heiress however decided not to dignify his question with an answer.

Instead, Weiss focused her attention to the worker that was walking right towards them. "It is a pleasure to see you, Weiss Schnee." The female worker bowed politely. "It's amazing to see that you chose our establishment to consider shopping in."

Akira decided that it was probably for the best now to hold his tongue. It was a good thing too since he almost wondered aloud if ass kissing was a common thing when it came down to Weiss or her family name in Atlas.

"It's my pleasure." Weiss smiled, making sure she was presenting herself well.

"I couldn't help but notice you entering the building with this gentleman here." The worker looked over to the black-haired boy standing quietly next to and behind Weiss. "Are you associated with him?"

The heiress thought for a couple of seconds before she nodded her head. Looking at Akira, she noticed the interested look on his face just waiting to hear her answer. It almost looked a bit annoying to her for some reason. "Yes, you are correct. This here is Akira Kurusu, my personal... valet."

Both the worker and Weiss then saw the rather amused yet pointed look Akira gave the heiress immediately after. "Very funny, Weiss." He said in a humored manner. "Her father and mine are associated with one another." The boy proceeded to lie smoothly, addressing the employee. "While the two of them attend business, I proposed that we occupy out time by going about Atlas."

Weiss opened her mouth, but then realized what Akira was trying to pull off and she held her tongue.

"I see." The worker nodded her head with a smile. "Would you like any help with anything? Do you have a particular item in mind to browse for?"

"No thanks, it's okay. Thank you for your offer though." Weiss politely declined. "We will call you over however if we do need anything." As the worker walked away, she eyed Akira. "Did you have to lie to her?" She quesitoned critically. "I may have to end up dealing with that lie of yours later."

"Not really." Akira answered bluntly. "Did you have to make that valet comment?" He sounded more interested than insulted when he asked that question. Clearly, it didn't bother him. Before Weiss could answer, Akira moved on deeper into the store.

Opening her mouth, she fumed in annoyance for about a second but then the white-haired female followed without a problem.

The monochrome duo began combing around the first floor while looking at the various types of scrolls there were to offer. But honestly, in Akira's opinion, a phone was a phone. All it needed to do was makes calls, send texts, and use the internet. Nothing fancy like having a lens that rivals a camera or contain a speaker that could be compared to a radio.

"It's either you or your family name, but people tend to act very pleasant with you around." Akira stated, his words coming out of the blue while he picked up one of the scrolls that was on display. "I suspect that it's the latter considering the position your father is in. Tell me though, is your father a lot more… influential than I think?"

Weiss stayed quiet for a couple of seconds, wondering if she should answer Akira's question. "There are… many opinions about him." She said as she checked out the functions of another device. "Most can be considered as not being very pleasant. Especially considering that they're all from Faunus."

"Ah, yes, Mr. Barro from last week did say something about the damn Schnee Dust Company." Akira commented, rubbing his fingers against the material to get a good feel of the electronic. Looking at Weiss, he saw that she had her eyes narrowed in his direction. "I'm just quoting what the man said." He stated in his defense while putting what he held down.

"Well that's great to hear." Weiss said sarcastically, looking at the different prices for the varying models. "Nothing but optimistic opinions when damn is the only adjective used to describe something." She raised an eyebrow when she saw the pricing for some of the items on display.

"Well, considering how this White Fang group are nothing but Faunus, I suspect that there are many members that hate Mister Schnee. Never thought I'd actually want to be entering the Metaverse again just so I could be able to maybe steal your father's heart if he has a Palace." Akira said with a frown and bitter tone, not seeing Weiss' confused look on her face before realization dawned on it. He was busy playing around with the features of the scroll. "Makes me wonder how much stuff your father has swept under the rug or how many skeletons are hiding in his closet."

"You would want to do that just from an angry rant from a Faunus and a conversation that didn't even last 30 seconds with my father when you met him for the first time?" The female asked in disbelief as she brought her sight from the scrolls to the boy next to her.

"Well, I would at least like some more proof before I would go after him. But, yes, I would." He said with a few nods of his head, placing the scroll on display down. Tapping the price sign a couple of times, he then began walking over to the counter with Weiss right behind him. "Speaking of your father, does he still know I'm still in your home?" Akira asked just before arriving in front of the worker. "Hello, I'd like to purchase the TJ-0 scroll please."

"Certainly, just wait one moment sir." The worker replied before going towards the back of the shop.

Weiss sighed. "No." She answered while shaking her head. "He already thinks that you've been kicked out… Just as you predicted." That addition held a bit of annoyance to them. "How did you even know that would be the case?"

"I didn't. I actually took a gamble." He admitted, getting Weiss to narrow her eyes at him. "There are many types of people who run businesses and or are wealthy." Akira explained as he leaned back to rest his arms against the counter. "Your father seems to be the type that only cares about important things and will not remember some other stuff when deemed not so. There was the possibility that he doesn't even care to keep the boy that insulted him in his mind, especially since your father has been in power long enough to expect to get what he wants."

"…You do realize what you've been saying, right?" Weiss questioned, putting her hands on her hips. "In front of the man's daughter no less? What's to stop me from telling him all of this when we get back to my home?"

"I am right though, aren't I?" Akira with a bit of a frown. "Besides, he's had my comments coming to him considering how he left you waiting outside of his study for hours when he wasn't there in the first place. He didn't even send a single soul to notify you that he would be running late or that he would not make an appearance. Yet when you left, he arrives and expects you to still be there." Akira shook his head and turned around to wait for the worker. "Somebody needs to stand up to him. Show that he can't just do or get whatever he wants."

"If that sentence should be applied to anyone, it should be you." Weiss deadpanned, getting Akira to shrug his shoulders.

Weiss then went quiet, not just because she remembered him saying he was not pleased with what her father did to her, but the very fact that Akira seemed to not be very happy at all when talking about the subject. He did say last week that he has had a familiar experience.

Did that mean his father was the owner of a company as well? A rich man perhaps who spent no time with his son and preferred to work? What about the mother then? Alcoholism as well?

"Thank you for waiting, sir. Here is your new scroll!" The worker came back with the device in hand, the diamond design on it being red while the rest was black. "Now, what sort of plan were you planning for your phone?"

"Didn't exactly have one in mind." Akira admitted. "What do you recommend?"

After a few minutes of what Akira should choose, the boy made his decision and his scroll was set up. Taking the device, he paid the necessary amount. Being thanked for his patronage, Akira turned around and saw that Weiss was staring at him. "You've been silently staring at me since I got my scroll." He stated, causing the girl to break out of her thoughts. "Anything I should be concerned about?"

"…" Startled a bit, Weiss managed to regain a bit of her composure back. "Nothing." She shook her head to respond to his question.

Akira eyed her, almost trying to see if she was telling the truth. But whether he concluded that Weiss was lying or not, he didn't show it. Instead he nodded his head. "…Okay." He then said. "Do you mind if we exchange numbers here and now then?"

Weiss, a bit taken aback at the acceptance of his answer. "Okay? That's it?" She questioned.

"Well, you said it's nothing. So what's there to discuss?" The boy reasoned while holding out his scroll. "...Unless there actually is something you would like to talk about. Fire away if that's the case."

Gazing at the boy, she narrowed her eyes critically for a second before taking out her own device and ignoring Akira's remark. It was only a matter of seconds before they had exchanged contact information. When that was over, the two of them headed for the exit that was right where the entrance was.

When the two of them exited to the outside, a person ended up bumping into Akira.

The person didn't seem to apologize verbally, only acknowledging what happened with an apologetic nod before moving on. But they only managed to make it two steps past the boy when Akira suddenly grabbed their wrist.

Weiss was surprised at the action of the boy suddenly grabbing someone in what she thought was an inappropriate way. "What are you doing?"

"Preventing someone from getting away with my wallet." Akira answered in a matter-of-fact tone while plucking a black wallet out of the stranger's hand before they could even react. Putting the money-holder back into his pocket, Akira turned his attention back to the one who tried to steal from him.

The figure was short female in a trio of colors, including her outfit. Half her hair was pink; the other half was brown while a white streak ran down through her pink hair. One of her eyes was brown while the other was pink as well. She wore a white jacket with a pink interior, brown pants and gray boots with very high heels. Under her jacket she wore a black corset, curvet in the middle of the bottom, exposing her sides. She also wore a multitude of necklaces. Hooked on her free arm was an umbrella.

With her jaw partially opened, Weiss' eyes darted between Akira's face and a wallet that was inside of the female's hand. "What?" She just managed to breath out in confusion.

"Simple, really." Akira stated, plucking what was his out of out of the girl's fingers before putting it back into his pocket. "She attempted to pick my pocket."

The white-haired girl then realized what she had asked. "I noticed!" She snapped. An incredulously look was then sent over to the one who was a victim of the crime. "Why are you not angry about the situation? That girl just tried to rob you!"

"Yes, that is true." Akira admitted with a nod of his head. But then he turned his face over to the female who was still struggling in his grip. "She was unsuccessful though, so it evens out if you ask me. No need to report her or anything."

The girl had her boot raised to kick Akira in the stomach when the boy had voiced his words. Surprise was on the faces of both females that were near the boy. "No need to report- Do I have to repeat myself?" Weiss asked, putting one hand on her hip while the other pointed at the robber. "She nearly stole from you!"

"She didn't do that good of a job in her defense." The only male between the three of them stated in a matter-of-fact tone. Releasing his grip on the stranger while still staring at her, Akira was surprised that she didn't run. Sure, the stranger was off balance for a couple of seconds due to being on one leg, but there was no attempt to flee.

Instead, the girl just chose to stare back at him. She continued to gaze, a single blink switched her eye colors around. The stranger then looked up and down to take in the boy's physique and look in general. Tilter her head, she did not speak a single word through the entire ordeal while curiously peering at Akira's face once again.

Akira raised an eyebrow. "You're curious about how I knew that you tried to rob me." He said, almost making his sentence sound like a question. He shrugged his shoulders. "I just have practice in picking pockets myself."

Weiss scoffed. "Right." She followed up sarcastically while folding her arms. "Like you know how to pick someone's pocket. Despite your… odd quirks, I highly doubt you would do something that would be as low as a criminal action."

"You say that, but pickpocketing is like a fine art at the same time." Akira peered over his shoulder to look at Weiss from the corner of his eye. "It's all about establishing a link of trust between you and your target." The boy wagged his finger between his body and the white-haired female. Looking back to the stranger, he held up a white device that looked like a phone. "You'll probably want your scroll back by the way."

Blinking, Weiss stared at the device for a couple of seconds before it clicked in her head. Patting her pockets, she noticed that one of them was empty before snatching back her scroll. Glaring at Akira, she did not utter a single word in favor of climbing into the vehicle which was waiting for them.

"Well, let that be a tip for you..." Akira said as the short girl in front of him seemed to be amused at the action he had just done. He trailed off at the end of his sentence though, wanting the girl to follow up.

The female blinked a couple of times before she formed a circular shape with her mouth. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a light-pink scroll and tapped the screen a few times. Turning it around, she showed that she had typed something out.

"…Neo." The boy read slowly before nodding his head in acceptance. Odd that she didn't reply verbally. Oh well. He then extended his hand. "Akira Kurusu." Akira introduced himself right after and the girl shook with a bit of enthusiasm. "I apologize for cutting our conversation short however. My associate and I must be off."

Neo only shrugged her shoulders in response. Stepping back, the girl soon brought her hand up. Holding up two fingers, she pointed at her eyes before jabbing them in Akira's direction. A small, light smile graced her lips, yet it looked a bit sinister at the same time. Rolling her fingers after instead waving her hand, Neo then ran off and disappeared around a corner.

Akira then climbed into the limo and the vehicle started to move. Just as he sat down however, he saw that Weiss still had her eyes narrowed in his direction. "What?" He asked.

The white-haired female shook her head in exasperation. "Where did you even learn to pick pockets?"

"A cat created from the hopes of humanity taught me."

Weiss crossed her arms and rolled her eyes in disbelief at his answer.

 **Wow, eso hace que se publique otro capítulo. Pero ¿quién es feliz? Ciertamente no lo soy. Dejé de ser feliz hace mucho tiempo. Probablemente, después de que tantos invitados intenten forzar sus ideas que suenan terriblemente estúpidas en la sección de revisión, no quiero escribirlas. Así como una pareja que me ataca porque escribí mal este fic. Sí, no está tan bien; No te da derecho a insultarme en medio del cirticismo. Tal vez si algunos de ustedes realmente crearon una cuenta, entonces no se hubieran eliminado sus comentarios de invitados y podríamos discutir cómo se podrían solucionar los problemas. Pero no es lo que importa, ¿verdad? Solo soy el escritor retrasado que no puede aceptar las críticas y debería morir en mi burbuja de inseguridad. Todos vamos a morir algún día. Algún día pronto, con suerte. La vida es tan inútil como los capítulos y fics que publicamos en este sitio de idiotas.**

 **Pero perdóname, estoy mirando para sonar como un disco roto. Joder la vida directamente por su culo.**

 **Supongo que también debería disculparme por probar algo nuevo. Parece que estoy destinado a fallar. ¿Tratas de dejar de ser un deprimente? Trate de dejar de ser un imbécil para que podamos comunicarnos cómo resolver sus problemas en este fic.**

 **Esto se suponía que iba a ser más largo. Pero al parecer, la experimentación no obtiene más que gente que les dice a otros que se suiciden. Así que lo hice más corto.**

 **No flames please.**

 **Pero oye, esto no detiene a los idiotas.**


	6. Chapter 6

**This is a fanfic. BUY THE FUCKING MERCHANDISE!**

Standing in front of a changing room, Weiss was doing her best to remain still rather than pace around.

Arriving inside of the clothing store, it did not surprise her when she had attracted the attention of several workers in the building. After an explanation of her intentions, the attention had turned to Akira. Thankful that she was not the one being swarmed by employees, she watched as Akira was hounded by suggestions.

Weiss had to say however, she was impressed by the amount of patience the odd boy produced when it came down to the tsunami of voices that blended together with one another. Eventually the boy raised his own voice, so he could be heard by the masses. He was thankful for their efforts but said that he would like to try to find his own clothing.

Akira did manage to find a few articles of apparel that he thought would look nice. But he wanted to try them on first before paying for them. The boy also wanted Weiss' opinion on what he wore. Though she knew it would feel odd, Weiss decided to be generous and indulge him.

Waiting around however, Weiss began to think back to the earlier moments in the day and it then came to her. "Akira?"

"Yes, Weiss?" Akira asked, his voice bouncing off the confines of the cubicle among the rummaging to clothing.

"What exactly did you mean when you said that you have had a familiar experience last week?"

There was a small pause of silence. Hearing a lock click, the door to the changing room opened and Akira only poked his head out. "Familiar experience last week?" He asked with confusion and a puzzled expression while turning his head.

Weiss only gave him a flat stare. She knew that he had a good memory. Her first-hand experience was when she asked him a question about what he knew about what types of Dust there were. Not only did he name them while signifying their elements, but Akira even listed some possible mixtures and their properties that were at least at the beginning of an advanced level of knowledge.

"…Oh, that." Akira's eyes widened a bit in realization before bringing his head back in and closing the door. "Well, that refers to family issues." He answered as he proceeded to change.

That answer did not satisfy the female as she only folded her arms. "Could you maybe be more specific?" Weiss questioned.

"…You seem extremely curious all of a sudden." Akira commented behind the door. "Is there something I should be worried about?"

"What makes you say that?" The girl asked incredulously. She then sighed in defeat when Akira didn't answer. "Well… what you said earlier seemed to make you… not very happy. That just reminded me of what you said last week so… I'm just curious. When talking about your time as a Phantom Thief, you only managed to mention everything that happened in…" The name of the location was on the tip of her tongue.

"Tokyo."

"Tokyo, thank you." Weiss nodded. "While there was all of that, you never mentioned your family or your life before all of that."

"Because they honestly didn't seem relevant at the time." Akira opened the door to poke his head out once more, this time showing that he had a bit of red material covering his arms. "Again, you are extremely curious all of a sudden." He had a raised eyebrow, puzzled as to why Weiss was questioning him.

"Well…" She started, not exactly believing she was resorting to childish reasoning. "I told you about my family. I think it's only fair that you tell me about yours."

"…You didn't tell me anything." With a blink of his eyes, Akira shook his head with a straight face before closing the door again while slipping in.

Silently, Weiss stared at the door for a few seconds before frowning. "What?" Her question came with a demanding clarification judging by her tone.

"You didn't tell me anything." Akira repeated himself. "Everything I know I had discovered myself."

Opening her mouth, Weiss tried to come up with something but then it failed to come to her mind. She growled in frustration. Blinking immediately after, she quickly looked around to see if anyone was watching or listening in on their conversation. Thankfully, nobody was.

On Akira's end, he fell silent as well. As he buttoned up the new shirt he picked out, he silently began to think to himself. Looking towards the mirror, he stared at the black-haired boy in the reflection as if something was familiar with it. Tracing the material of the clothing, he felt just how expensive it was and it brought back memories.

Akira exhaled through his nose, resting his face into the palm of his hand. "..." Eyeing the changing room door, he knew that Weiss was still waiting for him even though she could have left whenever she felt like it. "My parents were not exactly functional people if you must know."

Weiss straightened her back a little with surprise with Akira's sudden confession of what she tried to pry from him. Quietly, she processed his answer. "…How exactly?" She asked.

"My father was a busy man that only focused on work and ignored us. Mother was occupied with… her own activities."

"…I see…" Weiss said quietly, understanding why Akira said what he had spoken. It meant something to her… seeing Akira at least being able to trust her with such information despite it being short and curt. "Perhaps I should change the subject." She attempted to diffuse the odd situation. "You seem to be extremely interested in reading books. How did that start?"

"When you're locked in your father's study by your mother, you eventually get bored of banging on the door while screaming."

…Just her luck…

With that bit of information revealed to her rather bluntly (she was not sure why Akira even told her that), Weiss decided to keep her mouth shut. It was at that point she noticed something. "How long does it take for you to change clothes?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Apologies." Akira answered. "I'll start speeding up then."

Taking in a breath, Weiss held it in to calm herself. Yes, his answer irked her a bit. But she shouldn't let that get the better of her. All she could do was continue to wait. Akira said that he would hurry up, so at least there was that.

"Right, finished."

Seeing the changing room door from the corner of her eye open, that movement took up her attention and Weiss turned her head.

Akira stepped out from the door to reveal that he was wearing some rather formal clothing. Against the white setting the building provided, Akira had on a black tuxedo that had very faint pale vertical stripes evenly spaced out. The piece of clothing only had the upper-button at his stomach fastened while the lower one was loose. Underneath the tuxedo was a red dress shirt. Also making him stand out was a yellow tie that was fastened to the dress shirt by a tie bar, so the bright material wouldn't move too much.

Below the waist was a pair of dress pants of the same color and design like his tuxedo along with black dress shoes that had brown soles. To finish off the look, Akira fiddled with the black gloves on his hands before adjusting his glasses.

"So, Weiss," He started off by holding his arms out for a second before letting them loosely fall to his sides. "What do you think?" Akira's question was accompanied by a shrug of his shoulders.

"You… look adequate." Weiss complimented. While he did look nice, the yellow tie part was certainly something that was throwing her off a bit. Some people could say it does compliment the red dress shirt underneath, but it still would be considered a glaring piece.

Akira nodded his head. "Very well." He said. "Just let me get changed so I can go pay for these."

"Actually, you don't have to." Weiss informed him, causing Akira to stare at her with a bit of confusion and interest. "You can wear the clothes you want to buy up to the cashier and they will register it."

"Hm, convenient." Akira commented before slipping back into the changing room. A few seconds later, Akira had managed to gather his old Phantom Thief outfit. "Shall we get going then?" He motioned with his head.

Weiss nodded and the two of them walked over to the cashier. The worker saw them, and Akira gestured to himself and the new clothes he was wearing. As the stranger nodded their head, typing a series of numbers into a machine and it presented what Akira was going to buy as well as what the price of each item was.

Pulling out his wallet, Akira fished out the necessary amount of Lien and handed it over to the worker who took it. Tapping a few more buttons, the register opened and then the cash went in while some came out. "Sir, your change is-"

The doors at the front suddenly burst open, slamming onto the walls next to them with an ear-piercing bang and causing everyone to turn in its direction. Belatedly, they heard something rolling along the floor. When they turned to the source, many pairs of eyes widened at the few canisters that came to a stop on the floor near where they were standing.

"What the-"

Everyone near the canisters were sudden blown away when each item sudden exploded. The shockwave was enough to throw Weiss and Akira in separate directions of each other while debris flew all over the place.

Weiss' landing was decent as she collapsed onto the floor. Coughing at the sudden impact though, she groaned while looking around. Shaking her head, the girl did her best to comprehend what was taking place at the very moment. Hearing heavy foot wear around her, she looked up.

Despite all her training to try to become a huntress, Weiss froze at the sight of a figure in black with a white Grimm mask on their face.

Akira's fall was not so fortunate. A rack that held clothing careened right towards him and struck his head due to the explosion. Being knocked down due to such a powerful force, Akira fell, and his head was slammed against the counter that he was near. He collapsed to the floor like a sack of potatoes.

Head in pain. Ears ringing. Blurry vision.

Akira accounted for all those facts while he panted heavily. Gritting his teeth with his eyes closed, he shook his head as if to rid himself of the pain.

Opening his eyes, a sudden feeling of vertigo washed over him. There was a change in the air as his surroundings changed color. The white walls became a red open space. Noises abruptly faded out, replaced by muffled silence. Other people, Weiss, workers, and shoppers were nowhere to be seen.

The ambiance in the air didn't bring any comfort to Akira's heart at all. He recognized the world around him and the feeling. Squinting while still panting, he clutched his head while gritting his teeth. "The Metaverse…" He hissed. "How…"

He then saw Shadows. The black masses moved about the area.

"…r!"

He heard something. Looking up, he froze and wished that he didn't.

"…ker!"

His friends, the Phantom Thieves, scattered like when he last saw them.

"…oker!"

The Shadows inched towards them. Sluggishly, the masses moved closer to the corpses the were presented in front of Akira. "…No…" He grunted in frustration, watching while feeling his body be unresponsive.

"Joker!"

Gasping, Akira blinked, and it startled him. Panting once again, he found that the red turned back to the original white. The clothing shop was in absolute shambles. But that was not what caught his attention.

"…Guys?"

Akira's question was a breath of disbelief and desperate hope

The rest of the Phantom Thieves… Among the debris, among all the chaos, they stood. As if they were healthy. Like they were there, in his sight. Their bodies were on their feet and they were looking back at him. They had spoken to him!

…But…

"Joker! Come on, man, you have to get up!" "Ryuji" exclaimed, waving his arm around in a general area.

"Skull's right!" "Ann" threw in her own voice, gesturing in the exact direction that Ryuji was pointing out.

"Those explosions can only spell trouble!" "Yusuke" added.

"What they said!" "Morgana" ran up from Akira's side, hopping up and down urgently. "This isn't the time for lying around!"

Narrowing in eyes, the feeling of confusion bubbled inside. "…Morgana?" Akira breathed despite registering everyone else that had spoken. He was doing his best to overcome the massive throbbing inside of his skull.

"Yes, it's me!" The "cat" answered, narrowing his eyes with a frown of concern. "Are you okay? You didn't hit your head too hard, did you?" The figure then shook their head. "Never mind that, you need to get back up!"

Akira still stared at the feline that was in his vision with a very puzzled look. Opening his mouth, the raven-haired teen decided to not speak despite the sudden reveal and turn of events. Even if it was catching him off guard. To be more accurate, he couldn't speak due to shock.

Trying to move his arms, he then saw that his weapons that were originally on his Phantom Thief outfit were now scattered next to him. Grabbing Arsene's Cane, Akira rolled himself onto his front. Eyeing the counter above him, he groaned in effort trying to reach the surface. Successful, he dragged himself up and scanned the area now that he had a view that was better than the one against the floor.

It was not a pleasant sight.

Akira suddenly felt his blood freeze when he saw a figure in black and a white mask, probably a White Fang member. Not due to the sight of the actual body, but what they were doing. They were reaching down to Weiss who was paralyzed on the ground in fear.

When she was grabbed by the black-clothed arm, something snapped inside of Akira.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" He roared loudly, swiftly climbing up onto the counter and launching himself towards his target. Grabbing the mask of the White Fang member while landing on their shoulders, Akira yanked the accessory off while jumping into the air.

But Akira wasn't done by a long shot. Seeing the surprise on the Faunus' face, the male teenager took full advantage of the shock. With his cane, Akira slammed weapon against the arm of the White Fang member that gripped Weiss' wrist. Landing on the ground, the active human swung his equipped arm and whacked the back of his target's leg. Watching them buckle down to their knees, Akira finished off his assault by smashing the cane right against the White Fang member's face.

After the three successful strikes in a row, Akira stopped when he saw the body be knocked down. Taking in air, he tried to steady his breath. Looking over towards Weiss, she was started and shaken a bit judging by the look on her face. "…Are… you okay?" Akira managed to breath out.

Blinking, Weiss quickly nodded while startled. "Y-yes, I… I'm fine." She nodded her head quickly. But then her gaze went down. "…You're hands…"

Swallowing, Akira was confused but brought his hands up to see that they were coated in blue flames. While being shocked, Akira brought them closer as it intrigued him at the same time. As if it were something he had not seen for a very long time.

"…What's wrong, Joker?" Out of the corner of his eye, "Makoto" walked over and saw what he was staring at. The brunette ignored Akira gazing towards her out of the corner of his eye in shock. "Whoa… that's kind of weird."

"Yeah… no kidding" "Futaba" spoke up, shuffling over to get a good look at Akira's hands, causing the boy to be a bit startled (which confused Weiss a bit). "It's like… that fire when we use our Personas except… well… we're inside of the real world rather than the Metaverse."

"Does that mean he can…" "Haru" voiced out slowly, peering over his shoulder. But the raven-haired teen didn't dare look over his shoulder as the voice made him shiver a bit.

Something then clicked inside Akira's mind, body, and what he felt like could be his soul. It swelled inside like a balloon. All of this…power… and emotion spread like wildfire, bringing a warm yet painful burn around his body.

"Miss Juwel!"

Hearing a voice, Akira and Weiss both snapped their heads over to see two men in suits try to dash over towards the entrance. Looking over to the front of the store, the two of them saw that three White Fang members were throwing a girl over towards the trunk of a car.

Akira's instincts caused him to act immediately as well. Running towards the vehicle, he only managed to see what kind of car it was and what the license plate number was. The car screeched away from the store, escaping everyone's sight in seconds.

"No, no, no!" Akira looked over to see one of the men shouting in terror. "Those damn Faunus actually managed to take Miss Juwel from us! Did they specifically target her here?!"

"We can follow them though!" The second man tried to reassure his partner. Pulling out an electronic scroll, he waved it around. "Remember that we still have the tracker on her, so we'll know where they're headed. Not only that, but the authorities will have been notified. They'll save her!"

"But they destroyed the cars around us!" The first man gestured around to show that the vehicles on the streets were indeed broken. "Even so, this is the White Fang! They're most likely going to kill Miss Juwel when they get the chance even if surrounded by the police."

Hearing this, Akira looked in the direction of which the vehicle had escaped. Sentences soon started bouncing around his brain.

As if their spirits were aiding him to the end. Like the fire when Personas were being used but, rather than the Metaverse, it was within reality. Something clicking inside of his mind and what could possibly be his soul. Having a tracker on that girl.

It was then was developed.

A potential plan.

Running over towards the two men that were supposedly bodyguards, Akira stood in front of them. "Do you have another one of those trackers on you?" He asked immediately.

"W-what?"

"Do you have another one of those trackers on you?" Akira repeated himself.

"We-well, yes, but-"

"Give them to me, now." Akira demanded holding his hand out. Only a second passed due to the men looking at each other and it was too much time for Akira. "Just do it! From what I can tell, that girl you both are worried about is in danger! It also seems like you both feel like you can't do anything – but you can! So, please, gentlemen, the trackers!"

Taken aback by his sudden rise in volume, one of the men immediately held out a small pill that had a red light blinking at the top of it. Most likely because they were at a loss and couldn't think up of a plan. Akira snatched the electronic while taking the scroll out of the other man's hands.

Quickly running over towards Weiss, Akira shoved the tablet item against her body. "Take this."

Just like the men, Weiss was startled at the sudden action. But she managed to hold the device as Akira let go. Unfortunately, she shoved it right up against Akira's chest. "What do you think you're doing!?"

"I'm going to try to save a life!" Akira replied, pushing Weiss back a bit while dropping the tracker in his pocket. "I'm going after that car. Unfortunately, I'm going to try to be going at a speed that's high and there is the risk of me dropping that scroll. Me dropping it means I'll have to run back which gives more time for the White Fang to get away!"

"And what am I supposed to do with this then?!" Weiss questioned, shaking the device.

"You're going to have to be my navigator." Akira answered. Seeing Weiss open her mouth again, Akira cut her off. "Look, there's no time!" He stated as he pulled out his scroll and began tapping a series of icons "You know Atlas better than I do, so just tell me which way to go to catch up to them!" Finishing his words, he ran towards the street. "Make sure to answer your scroll as well!"

While he moved though, everything was going too fast for Weiss for her to think properly. Opening her mouth, her jaw only moved but no sounds came out at the beginning. "Wait a min- How are you even going to catch up to them?!" She asked. "They're already who know how far now since they're in a car! There's no way you can catch up to them without a vehicle-"

Her question was answered, much to her shock, by the following event.

"Mercurius!"

When Akira got on both legs and one hand, sort of like an athletic runner, the blue flames that were once on his hands came back into play. But the fire soon began to cover his entire body, just coating the clothing and flesh. Within a second, a large being began to materialize as if it were pulling itself away from the flames. Just as it flipped backwards, it then landed behind Akira looking ready to run and the fire disappeared.

The thing was mainly blue. It was in a blue leather outfit that covered the entire body. The only opening on the clothing was a hood along with a small zipped loosened down to its chest. Where the hood way, Weiss could make out a black skull with a pair of red wings replacing what would usually be a set of eyes. At the back of the hood behind the neck was a black cape.

Gold was another factor that was used in its appearance. Two gold discs were right around the shoulders of the figure. The thing even wore gold arm braces and boots of the same material. In its hand was some sort of golden rod with a pointy end.

At the boot were two massive, feathered wings. The accessory was colored very oddly. At the top quarter of the wings was a light blue color. The next quarter was white. After that came a dark blue. To finish it off was the color silver.

Pressing the tips of his shoes firmly against the concrete, Akira shot off his spot like a bullet. The entire world was a slight blur as the boy just ran as he would in any situation where he needed to go fast. Continuously moving his legs back and forth, Akira suddenly stomped on the ground to stop himself.

Panting slightly, he looked down at himself before looking around. From what he could tell, the store that had been destroyed was no longer in sight. It only took him a few seconds for him to make that distance. He was… surprised. Never did he expect that he would have the ability to achieve such high speeds. Using a Persona nonetheless. It seemed as if his little hypothesis was right on the mark.

"Holy shit, dude…" Akira was startled when he saw "Ryuji" walk in front of him and looked up at the Persona currently in use. "Hey, Morgana, check it out!"

"I can see that!" "Morgana" exclaimed in fascination. "It's crazy enough that Joker can use Personas in the real world. But to use mine as well… I'm not sure what to say about the situation."

Akira however tilted his head in confusion. "…How?" He asked as he got strange looks. "You're all… you're all supposed to be dead…" His words came slow and were filled with deep confusion when the rest of the Phantom Thieves came into his view. "How is it that you are standing right in front of me?"

All of those in his sight went silent. "…Akira…" "Makoto" said slowly. "It's as you said… we're all dead but you… You should already know and remember that…"

Hearing "Makoto" say that, it caused Akira to freeze for a moment and look down in shame. "…Sorry…" He hoarsely croaked. "…I am so… sorry…"

"That can come later!" "Futaba" scolded him, causing the boy to snap his head up. "Don't you have someone that is supposed to be navigating you through Atlas?"

…That's right!

Looking down at his right hand, he saw that he was still holding onto his scroll. Akira had already placed a call before running. But the one he was trying to contact on the other hand.

"Come on… Pick up…" Akira urged to himself, putting the device to his ear while still looking around and suddenly seeing that he was alone once again.

…Wait, how did "Futaba" know about Atlas?

 **Break**

…He could summon….

Akira Kurusu… could summon…

A massive wave of thoughts went through her head within seconds. Akira could summon. What was that thing he summoned? How did he move so fast suddenly? Was it because of his summon? Was that it? Did he have more on hand?

What he had done… it should be impossible. Her sister had told her that summoning was unique to the family. Well, glyphs technically. But that referred to what they could do as well.

…Wait a minute… Something had just occurred to Weiss that made her have to rethink of everything. It took her that moment to remember that Akira was not from Remnant. So that probably meant that her family glyph rule did not register in his instance. But did that mean that everyone where he was from could summon?

…Probably not. Something like that would perhaps spiral out of control.

Still lost in her thoughts, it was then she felt something vibrating against her body while hearing a humming sound.

Looking down while lifting her hands a bit with surprise, her eyes fell upon the pocket of her jacket. Reaching down with her free hand, she fished her scroll which was the inanimate culprit. Speaking of culprits…

Tapping the icon to answer her scroll, she held the device to her ear after seeing the caller identification. "What in the world was that?!" Weiss shouted into her mobile electronic in moment of disbelief. "How were you able to move that fast?! Was it because of that thing you summoned?!"

[I suppose I can answer you, but right now is not exactly the best time, Weiss!] Akira spoke with a bit of edge to his voice. [Right now, I need some way to know which way to go to catch up to the White Fang! So, do hurry up and tell me which direction I'm supposed to head in!]

Holding her scroll out, she stared at the object in complete astonishment to the tone Akira was using with her. After a moment, she sighed while rolling her eyes. Looking down at the tablet in her other hand, she ran straight over to a damaged counter and brought her scroll back to her ear. Putting the tablet down, she made a small pinching motion to zoom the screen out and something caught her off guard for a single second.

"How in the world are you on that street?!" Weiss questioned. "That's nearly three blocks away and you traveled there in a matter of seconds!"

[Weiss-]

"Yes, yes, directions." She rolled her eyes again at having to be reminded once more. Looking down, she brushed her fingers against the screen. On the device, one black dot was moving while one red dot was still. She assumed that the red one belonged to Akira.

 **Break**

[Start moving to the right.]

Hearing Weiss' instructions, Akira looked over in the direction that she said to move in. Craning his neck to pop a couple of air bubbles inside, Mercurius was right behind him when beginning to run once more.

Bolting down the street, the boy could feel the wind rushing past his face and through his hair. That exact air however was causing him to squint, almost blinding his vision. To counteract this effect, Akira placed his free arm above his eyes in a horizontal pattern.

[Stop!] Weiss' voice shouted into his ear, causing the boy to screech to a halt while raising an eyebrow of disbelief. [You went too far! Go back a couple of streets and turn to your…] He heard Weiss mumble to herself for about a second. [Left! Make a left after two streets, so turn on the third one!]

Exhaling, Akira made a break for it in the other direction. This time, he made sure that his pace was a bit slower, so he could count. Turning where he was told to, Akira jumped suddenly when an oncoming car nearly crashed into him.

[Good, now continued down that street until you get to the end.] Weiss instructed him, unknown to the potential pain he almost had experienced. [After that, turn left once again.]

The corner of Akira's mouth twisted down in distaste when he now saw that he had to deal with traffic on the streets or people on the sidewalk. Ignoring the gazes he was receiving due to the large Persona behind him, Akira tapped his foot in thought swiftly. Running through the people forced him to go slower to avoid any collisions. Traffic would allow him to go faster, bit risk potential high impact.

[What are you waiting for? Get moving! Don't you want to save that girl?!]

Right, traffic it was then!

Dashing onto the streets, Akira immediately jumped up and above a car that was moving in the opposite direction. Landing on top of that exact vehicle, he leapt forward while performing a front flip. With the help of Mercurius, Akira's impact when hitting the road wasn't so bad thanks to its powers with wind. It proved to be even more useful as both Akira and the Persona slid right under an oncoming truck.

Getting right back up to his feet and running. Akira saw the oncoming traffic he was going to have to face. He couldn't risk moving to the other side of the road where it was already packed. Hopefully the dexterity he had used in the Metaverse helped him in this situation. Also, he hoped that he could work with one hand.

Still running, Akira jumped to the side to avoid a car and truck. Kicking off a lamppost, Akira soared through the air for a split-second before his hand and feet were planted against the side of the container that the truck was carrying. Strongly pushing off the truck, Akira hopped off onto another truck's shipping container side. Kicking off the surface, he reached his hand out while Mercurius did the same thing in order to grab the horizontal part of another lamppost. Spinning around a couple of times, Akira soon released his grip to fly a fair distance.

Landing at the end of the street, he looked over to his left before making a break for it.

[One street down then make a right. Right! Not left! You over shot it! Now make another right.]

Akira continued following Weiss instruction clearly, messing up a couple of times but managing to get back on track. Zigzagging through the streets, Akira sped his way through traffic while hoping that he was going fast enough.

[At the end of the street, make a left. Hurry! They're on the bridge!]

Just before turning the next corner, as Akira ran closer to it, he saw what Weiss was talking about. Such a large structure was massive, as to be expected. Going to his left, Akira saw that the street was fortunately empty so he was going fast. Looking to his side to get another look at the bridge, he saw the vehicle that he was after. The car that was white with some black accents.

But then something else caught his eye that made him slow down.

[What are you doing?! Are you going to let them get away?!] Weiss nearly screamed into his ear but settled for exclaiming her disbelief.

"…Weiss…" Akira spoke slowly. "…You didn't tell me that they were on a drawbridge."

[Drawbridge? What are you-] Weiss paused, as if she were realizing something before her eyes. "…Oh… they're on the Kreis bridge… Separating one part of Atlas to the next…]

"And it appears that it's time for the bridge to draw itself up." Akira commented.

Just as he said, the massive structure was being lifted. Akira heard could practically hear the mechanized groaning despite it all being in his head. A ship was slowly passing its way through the space that had been made specifically for it. The large boat took its sweet time and it cause Akira to have to think quickly.

"What about waiting for the bridge to lower?" Akira snapped his neck around to see "Yusuke" supplying an idea. "You appear to be fast enough using Morgana's Persona."

"…" Akira opened his mouth, tilting his head while narrowing his eyes to get a better look at who was supposedly in front of him. "…No, that won't work." He answered "Yusuke", rubbing his own head. Oddly enough, that idea was in his brain a couple of seconds ago. "We don't know how long it will take for the bridge to lower and they could get away by then."

"Then how about a different path?" "Haru" suggested. "If that route takes too long, how about a new one?"

That too Akira considered. However… "Weiss is most likely looking at that right now." His response was curt, feeling his head throb a bit. "Plus, once more, time is an issue."

"Can't go one way because of the bridge. Can't go the other because of a long route." "Morgana" summarized what had already been clarified. As the "cat" folded his paws, he looked over to the large structure that the ship was still trying to move under. The very sight caused "Morgana" to smirk. "Guess that leaves the third option."

While "Morgana" Spoke, Akira looked down the road that led to the bridge. After that, he looked in the opposite direction.

When he looked directly at the bridge though, an idea sparked in his head while "Morgana" stated what he was thinking.

 **Break**

Weiss was amazed when Akira had made fast progress.

But she didn't have time for that feeling now.

"Okay, so the bridge doesn't work…" Weiss said to herself, swiping through the map. The fact that the black dot was moving away from the red one was slightly distracting. But she did her best to make sure that didn't take up her mind. Distractions meant that she wouldn't' be able to think properly.

"Come on… come on…" She continued muttering. "There has to be some way that Akira can use…" Still trying to figure out a way through Atlas was annoying. This Kingdom was just one large maze. Then again, any large area with streets could be considered that.

Wait… she found it! Albeit, it was a bit of a long way. But after a quick estimation, Akira could make it judging by the speed he could move at.

"Akira, I think I found it!" Weiss reported, bringing her scroll back to her ear to speak of her good news. "First of all , you need to-" She cut herself off when she saw the dot moving in a certain direction she did not expect at all. "What are you doing? The bridge is in the other dire-"

…The bridge was in the other direction… and Akira had just zoomed towards an opposite point. Gauging the personality of that raven-haired teen…

"…No, Akira." Weiss said, shaking her head as if trying to stop him. "Don't do it, Akira."

He responded by hanging up.

 **Break**

Pocketing his scroll, Akira took a deep breath.

Hopping a bit on the spot, he looked back to see Mercurius doing the same thing. Exhaling once, Akira bolted down the street straight towards the edge of the sidewalk. Just as he made it to the edge, he leapt as far as he could.

After kicking off the cement, Akira felt himself soar through the air thanks to the leg and wind power the current Persona provided. But it wasn't enough. He still knew there was a fair distance he still had to travel. Yet he was falling and soon to plunge into the cold water that was below.

"Susano-o!"

Quickly, Akira felt the lightness of his body disappear and be replaced with the regular weight of his old one. He began to feel as if he was building muscle suddenly. Strength coursed through his body as he physically felt as if he could lift some heavy stuff.

The Persona Mercurius meanwhile disappeared in the process. Its skinny arms and legs began to develop muscle. The upper-blue body remained the same color while growing abs. The lower body however began to be covered with metal sheets in a skirt-like fashion and iron pants. The shoes shrunk down into metal sandals. From what was originally a blue outfit, it spread out at the back of the neck to form a large reddish-brown cape. White hair grew out from under the hood, causing the clothing to disappear completely to allow room for two large horns to present themselves proudly.

The new Persona crossed their arms as one of them held a massive, jagged sword. Just before Akira had hit the water, he landed right on top of the blade. Almost floating, Susano-o seemed to be in some sort of tranquil state. Suddenly, the large Persona released a mighty swing, launching Akira across the water.

But following that swing was a small sheet of ice, providing a landing surface for Akira while allowing the boy to slide across without a problem. But when reached peak speed though, a ramp made of the element was formed. Once again, the teen was airborne. It did not worry him however as it was all a part of the plan.

"Seiten Taisei!"

Just like with Mercurius, Susano-o began changing as well. Body parts started shifting. New parts began growing. All within the span off less than a second. Soon enough, the large, punk-looking monkey was riding onto top of a cloud that had angry eyes.

Landing his feet right against the giant rod the monkey-king Persona, the being swung and launched Akira an even farther distance. Soaring, Akira almost hit the ledge of the bridge but then landed in the middle of the streets.

Planting his feet and hands to gain grip on the pavement, Akira summoned Mercurius once again and dashed down the lane. Running past cars, he made sure that he was keeping up a fast speed. That one vehicle that he was focused on was just in his sights.

Within seconds, he had caught up to the car he was chasing. Reading the licence plate, he was confident that he was behind the correct vehicle. Or else what he had in mind to do was going to be incredibly awkward for the ones that were not his targets.

No doubt that they were seeing a teenage boy in a suit chasing them down with a giant figure right behind him. So, he had to act fast.

Quickly running to the left side of the car, Akira glanced over quickly to make one final confirmation. That attempt was left unanswered as the windows were up and showing his reflection rather than the inside. Deciding to take the risk, Akira leapt high up and to his right. With the power in his legs, Akira went over the car. Grabbing the top of the vehicle, the boy swung down and smashed through the window.

Unfortunately for him, Mercurius was a little too big for the vehicle for the moment.

Landing in the back seat of the car, Akira found himself surrounded by three White Fang members. He quickly registered where each one way. One was driving, the second in the front seat, the last right next to him.

"What the-"

"How-"

"When-"

Swiftly, Akira drew Arsene's Cane from his clothing while punching the Faunus right next to him in the face while all of them were confused. Snapping his hand down, the boy grabbed the adult and yanked them in front of himself to act as a temporary shield. Just as he had done so, the front Faunus drew a pistol and pointed it in Akira's general direction.

Immediately taking advantage of their hesitation to accidentally shoot their comrade, Akira smacked the gun out of their hand with his cane. Feeling the White Fang member in his grip struggling, he smashed their face once again using the equipped weapon. Right after that, the figure grabbed the teenager's weaponized wrist, preventing him from moving it.

Throwing his temporary body shield to the side, Akira lunged forward with a left-handed punch. Snapping that exact hand back and forth, he landed a solid blow against his current opponent's face. Bending his right arm, Akira attempted a back-handed blow using Arsene's Cane but then the driver stuck their arm out to prevent the blow from landing on their friend.

Striking a fist down on their arm, Akira had his attack released. The teenager then attempted to hit the driver with a swing. The driver raised their arm against though to shield themselves from Akira. The White Fang member in the front seat then punched Akira square in the face, causing the boy to recoil back and drop Arsene's Cane.

Feeling his back hit the seat of the car, Akira was stunned for a bit. That gave the perfect opportunity for the White Fang member at the front seat to grab his collar and slam his head against the dashboard. They then reached down onto the car floor to grab the pistol and pointed it at the boy's skull. Akira managed to get out of his daze just in time to snap his head back while dragging the gun forward. The White Fang member did not expect such a quick reaction, accidentally firing their gun and shooting the driver's leg.

Ignoring the scream of pain from the driver, Akira balled his right hand into a fist. Akira then swung up and to the right to land a blow right against the front seat member's face. Crawling back up an inch, Akira hand one hand over the seats and the other holding the small handlebar above the back door. With both his feet, the raven-haired boy planted both his heels against the front seat rider's face to knock them out.

It was that that point, Akira realized that the car had swerved severely. What came after that was hitting the side of the bridge, rolling over the edge, and they started falling immediately after. The flipping of the car didn't help his situation either, causing him to be thrown around like a pinball.

Damn, he was too busy to take care of the shot driver. The bullet really caused them to lose control.

Okay, priorities. Hostage. Must save them. That was the reason why Akira had run perhaps through a quarter of the Kingdom. Secondary, but just as important as a priority, at least make sure none of the White Fang Faunus die. Yes, they may be terrorists, but that doesn't really mean they deserve to die in the first place. These were people, let them pay for that they had done with jail time.

Grabbing onto the back seating, Akira hoisted himself up to see that who he presumed to be Miss Juwel was zip-tied at the back. No gag, odd. He at least would have expected screaming and shouting during his fighting. Maybe she was threatened to be quiet. Not wanting to waste any time even shrugging his shoulders at his thoughts, he grabbed the girl and pulled her up.

"What the- who are you?!" The girl questioned critically, struggling in his grip due to being touched by a stranger. Her efforts were futile though as Akira pulled her close to him. The next one to grab was the Faunus knocked out in the back seat. Easy since this one was bouncing around closely to him. Kicking off the ceiling, Akira struggled to keep hold of Miss Juwel and the unconscious soldier.

Getting his face smacked by flailing hands, Akira glanced over in a bit of irritation. But he still extended his arm to grab the conscious driver who was in a panic. The final Faunus fortunately fell right onto his body. With two people for each of his arms, it was tough for Akira to hold them together but he managed.

Preparing for impact, he scrunched his face up for the incoming pain he may end up feeling. While that happened, his mind didn't have time to think things fully through so he summoned up the first Persona that came to mind that could perhaps help them survive upon impact.

"Anat!"

From his back, silver-steel grew out. As if it were pushing out of him, the ultimate Persona of Makoto finally emerged in less than a second. The massive construct that almost resembled parts of a motorcycle immediately embraced each one of the people that Akira held onto.

A single second passed before Akira's head banged against Anat's body while hearing a crashing noise.

His world then went black.

 **Break**

Smoke…

The foul smell plagued Akira's nostrils and he sneezed.

Groaning, his eyes blearily opened and he was forced to blink a number of times to gain proper vision. Breathing heavily, he tried moving his body but then a sharp pain snapped through it. Agony spread from his legs all the way up to his head, causing him to lose his focus for a moment. Everything was so disorienting for the boy it was incredibly tough to keep his goals in mind.

Due the stinging of his brain, Akira moved his head around. A couple of meters away, he could see that vehicle that he was in before impact... How long had he been out for? Wait, what about the people he saved.

Craning his head around once more, he noticed that his skull rubbed against an uneven, rough surface. Was he laying on rocks? Didn't matter now. To his left, two of the White Fang members were laying on the ground with Miss Juwel nearby. The girl was not facing him, but he could tell she was still conscious due to her struggling to break free.

…Wait, where was the third White Fang member?

The light above him darkened suddenly. Doing his best to roll his head up, Akira caught sight of a figure looming over his body. Due to the sun, Akira couldn't really make out the face of the person. But if he had to guess judging by the round top and the white armor, Akira assumed that it was the White Fang member he had just been thinking about.

It was also at that moment; the raven-haired teen caught the sight of a knife gleaming in their hand.

But before Akira could even think up a counter-strategy, another shiny blade came to view when it was stabbed right through the Faunus' throat.

Drops of blood fell onto his face and the sudden death in his eyes caused Akira to freeze. The blade was retracted after a few gurgles from the White Fang member, causing their body to fall right next to Akira and only twitch.

A single boot wiggled itself under the dead body and rolled it farther away from Akira's position. As his head limply rolled to the side, he then saw who had saved him.

Neo bent her legs, bringing her gaze closer to Akira while grinning as if she had done a good deed. While shouldering her umbrella, she wagged her finger at him with her other hand. Right after, she pointed at her eyes and then gesturing to Akira's.

Akira was still too stunned and disoriented to even give a proper response, only settling for giving the girl an odd look of confusion and small disbelief. Neo was just… so nonchalant about the situation. As if there wasn't a dead body right next to her caused by her hand.

The girl then started to reach over towards Akira. The raven-haired teen watched as Neo felt around his chest before pulling out his wallet from his new clothing. His eyes still stayed on her body as she waved the item while standing up before opening it.

Upon her action, she stopped in a moment of surprise. Bringing the wallet closer to her face, her expression soon morphed into scrunched up confusion. Turing it at all sorts of angles, Neo just stared as if it were something completely foreign to her knowledge.

Her lips then turned into the shape of the letter o. Looking over to Akira, she then smirked as if she had planned up something devious right then and there. Reaching into the wallet, she pulled out his ID card with a couple of Lien cards. Bending her legs once more, she snugly fit what belonged to Akira back into his suit and fished out his new scroll.

Opening it, she started tapping in a few icons. From what Akira could tell from her finger movements and how the screen was holographic, she was going into his contact information and putting something onto the list. It only took Neo a few seconds before she tucked the scroll back where it belonged. Standing back up, she skipped away a couple of times while smugly waving his ID card around.

The last things Akira saw just as he was blacking out once more was Neo spin around, wink at him, then shatter into glass.

 **Break**

"Stop right here."

In a different limousine due to the damages that had been done to the original one, Weiss gave her order and the driver followed it. Looking outside of the window, Weiss saw that small crowd was gathered around a certain area. Peeking down, she looked at the tablet that notified her of the position of where those that held the specific tracking device was.

Confirming that this was indeed the location, she looked back up. "Please wait until I get back." After speaking, she saw the human nod their head before she stepped out of the long vehicle. Shutting the door grabbed some attention from the onlookers that were at the back. Approaching, she saw that she eventually acknowledged the looks. "Excuse me."

Her polite words thankfully were enough to cause a tight path for her due to baffling the people of her presence coming to such an event. Slowly squeezing her way through, she eventually somehow managed to make it to the front without any huge complaints.

When she finally made it to yellow tape, Weiss knew that she had made it. Looking around once more, she saw the debris that was caused by a falling vehicle. Her eyes also fell upon a couple of Atlesian soldiers dragging away the White Fang members that she suspected to be the ones responsible for the kidnapping. There were only two of them though, so where was the third? A few more meanwhile were standing around a blanket that had something underneath. Standing at another area, Miss Juwel had a blanket wrapped around her body as she was being calmed by a medic.

…For Akira however…

"Sir, please sit still!"

"I promise that I will be fine after a moment of privacy, just let me go!"

Weiss groaned while rolling her eyes at the absolute fuss that Akira was putting up. The raven-haired teen was struggling to get away from three paramedics. The adults meanwhile were trying to do their jobs and at least bandage the boy.

The white-haired female wondered why Akira was struggling in the first place. He was covered in scrapes and a lot of cuts. Not to mention that who knows what kind of damage could have been done from falling off a bridge.

Still watching the boy, she must have caught his eyes because he had suddenly addressed her. "Ah, Weiss, there you are!"

That one name caused the three on duty with medical practice look over in Weiss' direction. It gave Akira the perfect opportunity to swiftly rip himself out of their grip. Immediately after, Akira ran over towards the back of an ambulance that had the doors open. Hopping inside, the boy then slammed the metal barriers shut.

"Sir!"

Just as one of them expressed their exasperation while trying to open the door, a large, dark blue wing covered the transparent surface. A few gasps escaped the mouths of the workers and bystanders. Weiss had her eyes widen, but she saw that kind of wing before.

What was the name of that things again? …Oh, that's right, Mercurius.

Just as the paramedics stood dumbfounded, the door of the ambulance opened to show Akira still covered in a bit of dirt but physically fine. There were no signs of external injuries done to his body. It was as if… he had somehow healed himself back to full health.

"Right, there we go." Akira stated, dusting his sleeves while readjusting his gloves. Walking straight past the doctors that were still in a stupor, he walked right up to Weiss. "Well, it's good to see you again."

Staring at the boy with her mouth slightly open, the Schnee eventually just shook her head in defeat. "You have so much explaining to do yet so much has happened today." She groaned, turning around while mentally preparing herself to wriggle through a mass of bodies once more. "Just make sure that I get my answers tomorrow or soon after that."

Akira looked at the heiress before nodding his head. "Fair enough." He answered. He would be more surprised if she didn't ask any questions. Weiss did have a mind that held lots of curiosity. Patting himself down to make sure that Arsene's Cane was still on his person, he followed Weiss through the crowd.

"I have your guns if you are curious." Weiss spoke. "They're in the car with your… previous outift."

"Much appreciated." Akira replied, covering his face from onlookers just in case there were any spare cameras aimed at him. He had already exposed himself far enough, he didn't need any more people already possibly posting his face on social media.

Climbing into the limo and closing the door, he let out a breath of relief. Rubbing his forehead, Akira relaxed in the seat while looking out of the windows. He could still see the sea of people curious looking in the direction of the vehicle. So many men and women gathered around a single area.

"…Are you okay?" Slowly turning his head, Akira saw that Weiss was slightly frowning in his direction. The girl had her arms folded, silently scanning the boy for anything that would be out of the ordinary for even him.

"…" The boy waited for a second or two before looking back towards the window. "…I think so…" He said quietly. His answer caused Weiss to not cease her gazing at first. But she eventually gave up.

Now that he was given a bit of quiet time, Akira had the chance to go over his thoughts and the events that had played out. As he went through his mind, a couple of things did not sit very well with him.

First, there was that one White Fang soldier. Could Akira have done something about it? Despite him being extremely disoriented during that moment, would it have been possible for him to still be able to summon a Persona to incapacitate him? At least neutralize the threat before Neo had dealt with it.

Speaking of Neo, what about her? What was she going to do with his Japanese ID card? Judging from the murder she had committed and how she acted, Akira deducted that Neo was possibly used to that kind of work. Considering that she was technically a criminal, did that mean she was going to do something odd with his identification? What about when she added herself into his contacts?

Unfortunately, there was a third factor as well. Morgana… Ryuji… Ann… Yusuke… Makoto… Futaba… and Haru… The former Phantom Thieves… showing up here and there at different moments…

Was that really them?

Or was it all in his head?

 **Break**

Opening his eyes, Akira concluded it was a new day considering the light outside compared to the night when he fell asleep.

Stretching, the boy arched his back like a cat to stretch. After laying his back on the bed, he sighed while rolling his eyes up a bit. Well, it seemed that his headache subsided by a fair amount. It was still there, but it was easily negligible. Nothing too bad or too distracting.

Hearing knocking on the door, Akira turned his head over to the wooden barrier. Quickly pushing the sheets off his body to show that he was wearing the trousers and shirt from yesterday, he walked over. Arriving at the door, he opened it to see a familiar butler he had grown used to.

"Good morning, Mister Akira." Klein greeted with a small bow.

"Morning, Mister Klein." Akira replied with a nod. His eyes then wandered to the area behind the butler and it caught his attention. "Are those for me?"

Klein took about half a second to comprehend Akira's words before turning around. "Ah, yes, they are." The man agreed with the teenage boy. "They are gifts from the Juwels family. Mister Juwels himself is a little eccentric when it comes down to his daughter, so when he caught wind that you were associated with Miss Schnee…"

"He sent over a large amount of clothing as a form of thanks." Akira finished for the butler, causing the adult to nod his head. "…Well, I am in need of more clothing. I'll take them into my room myself, if it is no trouble."

"Oh, if you are okay with it." The portly man answered, reaching into his pocket while pulling out a white envelope. "This is also for you. There is no sender identification, but it was addressed for you." He handed it over to the teenager, who looked over the item carefully. "Also, Miss Schnee has requested that you meet her inside of the library after you finish breakfast. She appears to have more questions for you."

"As she should." Akira replied, shuffling around the butler while grabbing the first box. "Thank you, sir. Tell Weiss that I'll be down soon. I just need to put these away and change." As he lifted, the boy pushed the door open, walked into his room, and put it down next to the farthest wall. Moving back into the hall, Akira carried a second box to that same area. He continued this pattern a couple more times before exhaling.

Looking down towards the envelope that Klein provided for him, Akira turned his head while critically examining it once more. Feeling it, he felt something flat and solid inside of the item. Tearing it open while fishing out the contents, Akira blinked with surprised at when he had been feeling.

It was a completely new ID card in English… for him. His photo was there, but all the written information was printed out in the different language. Name. Age (which was surprisingly spot on). Sex. Birth date (that was fake). All the requirements were present.

Carefully pulling the item away from the paper, he eyed it in awe. He then slowly looked over to the letter.

 _You naughty boy, Akira Kurusu._

 _Do you have any idea how much work had to done in order to rush this and get it to you this fast? Not only do you owe me one for saving you, but now two for replacing that fake ID someone scammed you with. Feign ignorance, but you know your stuff. No way are you as innocent as you make yourself out to be._

 _You are most likely wondering why I did all of this for you. Why, it is because I find you… rather fascinating. I did indicate that I would keep my eye on you, and that I shall._

 _My means of payment will be requested eventually, so do not forget what you owe. Of course, I offer plenty of other services for appropriate compensation if you ever need. You are a man of hidden depths after all. Who knows what you may require. All you must do is contact me whenever you desire._

 _I trust that you will keep our relationship a secret or maintain it pleasantly. If you choose not to, I will be rather unhappy. Do not make me do something we both will regret._

 _I remain in delighted anticipation to working with you._

 _:D :) ;) ;D ;P_

 _Neopolitan_

All he had to do was read the letter over once. So, it looked like he was in debt to a criminal. What sort of compensation was Neo going to ask of him anyways? Criminals are greedy, but sometimes they were reasonable at the same time.

Walking over to the bed-side desk, Akira put the letter down while taking another look at the ID Neo had provided for him. Placing it next to the paper, Akira walked around the bed and into the washroom that was connected to the bedroom.

Exhaling, he scrunched his eyes it felt like there was so much going on now.

Neo sending him a letter. All of that clothing sent by that Juwel family that he was going to have to go through and organize. He was looking forward to Weiss' questions at this rate. Even if she was going to ask so many things, they at least were too his knowledge and wouldn't have to think too hard.

Running the sink, the raven-haired teen cupped his hands. As water piled up against his flesh, he closed his eyes and splashed a liquid against his face. Shaking his head, he felt around for the provided face cloth. Drying his face, he opened his eyes. Looking at the mirror above the sink, Akira froze in shock at the sight that was in the reflection.

"Dude, you okay?" "Ryuji" questioned in concern while the rest of the "Phantom Thieves" also seemed to look a bit worried. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

 **Phew, done and done. Yes, the idea is bizarre. Some of you may like it… okay. I know there are people that may not… alright. I want to try giving it a shot. That's fine, right? Right?!**

 **Yeah it is.**

 **No flames please.**


	7. Chapter 7

**This is a fanfic. BUY THE FUCKING MERCHANDISE!**

Weiss sighed in a bit of relief when she had made it to her bedroom.

Her day had been absolutely exhausting. Not just physically, mentally as well. Her morning was booked with studies that she had to catch up on due to being distracted by various answers Akira had provided for her a few days ago.

The boy had just so happened to omit the fact that he could summon constructs known as Personas. Apparently, these grand figures were just a part of his soul, or so she understood from his explanation. There was no need to slay anything nor be part of the Schnee family since her bloodline has been the only ones to be able to have the ability to summon. That last part of the fact was partially relieving since she didn't want some twist like he was part Schnee or maybe it was time-travel with him somehow being her ancestor.

…Perhaps his bizarre thinking was rubbing off on her.

What was she at again before? Ah, yes, the morning being absolutely exhausting with her thoughts on Akira's tale. Not only did that take up a fair amount of her afternoon, she also had to through her physical exercises due to her desire of becoming a huntress.

Even during her mock fights, her instructor had been scolding the heiress for a while about the same issue repeatedly. There was something the heiress was missing in her fighting, but the adult refused to give a hint or answer. It irked the girl a lot. Weiss was doing everything she was taught to do. So what was it that she lacked?

Reaching over to the light switch that was next to her door, she flicked the device. But when she heard a click, the lights did not turn on.

Weiss frowned at this reaction. Grabbing the small switch, she moved the knob up and down repeatedly with no positive results. Hm, it looked like the bulb had burned out. She would search or call for Klein to have it replaced immediately. But it was late, and she just wanted to go to sleep. Perhaps the morning would suffice a lot more.

As she just managed to walk over to her bed, she froze when she heard someone speak.

"Tell me where that boy from the Juwels incident is and I'll let'cha live."

Hearing an incredibly nasally voice, Weiss brought her head around. She jolted at the sight of a single person standing across the room near the door. The figure was taller than her, wearing black pants with a dark-grey pullover-sweater. Covering their entire head was a face mask with a crude cut made for the eyes to see well enough yet conceal their identity. Their hands were behind their back, but they gave a rather intimidating presence.

Weiss stared in shock at the sight of the stranger who had just threatened her. Freezing for a couple of seconds, she then noticed that the figure didn't go for her yet. Taking advantage of their lack of initiation, she twisted her body around to grab her rapier that wielded Dust.

But when she looked at the table where she would put the case down for her weapon, it was gone.

"Lookin for this?" She turned back to face the stranger who held up a case which she recognized belonged to her and knew it held her weapon. They put it down softly but what came next was anything but. "I'm gonna ask ya one more time. Where. Is that boy?"

Seeing the figure start moving, Weiss first response was to retreat towards the bathroom. It was perhaps a place to buy her at least a bit of time to call for help and survive this encounter. But as soon as she ran towards the specific area in mind, she jiggled the knob and realized that it was locked. That stranger knew that she would have possibly gone to such a safe spot.

Turning her head around, she saw the figure getting closer. They were between her and the door to get back into the hallway. Eyeing to her side, she saw that there was her bed. It was the only other way that wasn't blocked. She didn't have any other choice.

Dashing over towards her bed, she was about to vault over the mattress when she suddenly tripped on her own legs. Releasing a small yelp, Weiss landed right on top of the soft surface. But as soon as she did, she knew that her escape was a failed attempt. Now this stranger was going to do who knows what to her!

…Only she didn't feel anything happen for the next couple of seconds.

"…That was pathetic, you know that?"

As soon as a new voice entered her ear, Weiss snapped her gaze off the mattress and right behind her. The feeling of panic that was inside of her grew into irritation and something more when she had a feeling of who the sound belonged to. The stranger may have their face covered, but their voice gave away their identity. "…Akira?" The white-haired female asked with an incredulous tone and narrowed eyes.

The figure stood still but nodded his head once to confirm her suspicions.

Huffing, she slapped her hands down and pushed herself off the bed. Weiss got up to her feet as fast as she could. Immediately finishing her action, she sucker-punched the boy right against his stomach as hard as she could. Satisfaction grew inside upon impact, but it was overshadowed by anger.

"Augh!" The masked-boy coughed in pain as he doubled over for about a second. Stepping away, he allowed some space between him and the heiress. Akira clutched his stomach at first. Looking back up, he spread his arms out in disbelief. "Now you hit me! Seriously?" He questioned.

"What is your damage?!" Weiss hissed back immediately, her hands in front of her and curled up, resisting the urge to strangle the male teenager. She then turned around and groaned while putting her hands up to her face.

Reaching up, Akira tore the cloth off his head. "Given that you were nearly taken away by a White Fang member, a little over a week ago, I thought perhaps a test of your abilities to defend yourself outside of your practice classes was in order." He explained himself. "It was." After the statement, the boy pointed at Weiss. "You have much to learn about the art of self-preservation and or instinct outside of your classes."

Weiss sighed while groaning. "Okay, if you ever do that again, I swear-"

"You'll what? Fall over again?" Akira cut the white-haired female off, folding his arms. "Look, from what I understand, the work huntsmen and huntresses do is dangerous. This danger also extends to their daily lives. You know this. Yet you insist on taking on such a crucial role in Remnant's society." He pointed again directly to the girl. "Last week, a terrorist nearly managed to kidnap you. How?" A quick pat on the wrist that was gesturing in her direction was followed by an answer. "You let him grab you without putting up a struggle."

The heiress rolled her eyes. "I was surprised at the appearance." She scoffed in her defense.

"Right, that's the perfect excuse to provide when lacking any form of defense, hmm?" Akira replied sarcastically immediately. A sigh escaped his lips. "We've only known each other for nearly half a month. But realizing that you were in danger was difficult for me. If…" He took a breath. "If anything happened to you with me around, I'm not sure if I would be able to forgive myself."

Her eyebrow twitched. "Okay, that is not how you express concern for someone you want to keep safe!" She stated clearly, walking straight up and in front of the male. Putting her hands up, she began shoving Akira towards the door of her room. She just wanted rest and this boy was preventing her from getting any! "Now get out!"

"Perhaps. But I can at least guarantee these will be a great asset in the future." Akira attempted to reassure the girl while moving along with the force she was applying to him. "Just remember that you should expect more guerilla style tests of your ability to fight back!" His tone was normal at first. But as soon as he was shoved out of the bedroom, he hastened his sentence and raised the volume a bit before Weiss slammed the door right behind him.

Turning around, Akira looked up and down at the door and released a small huff. "You have been warned." He said quietly before walking back towards his own room.

"Guess that didn't exactly work out as you expected, huh?"

Akira sighed, rubbing his head as it started to ache a bit. Closing his eyes, he took in some more air before turning around to see the "Phantom Thieves" scattered around behind him. Some were leaning on the walls while other were simply standing. Judging by the voice, "Ann" was the one who had spoken. Also, since all of the others were eyeing her, he made such a conclusion.

The black-haired boy narrowed his eyes in her direction with a scrunched-up face. "No, I sort of saw that coming." He answered, his hands behind his back while still staring at all the others in his vision. "Weiss isn't used to unorthodox methods."

The "Phantom Thieves" might have been feeling a little bit awkward by the gaze Akira was giving them as "Yusuke" decided to speak up. "Are you still trying to figure out what we are?" The "blue-haired boy" questioned, putting a hand to his chin. "You have that look on you face when thinking."

"He most likely is." "Makoto" added while crossing her arms. "I mean, you would be questioning your own sanity as well if you saw dead people."

"Well, why don't we help him figure it out then?" "Futaba" asked, her curiousness almost sounding a little bit mischievous. She smirked a bit. "Well, think about it. Our Personas are at his disposal. That happened because what I guess could be out souls aided him against Yaldabaoth."

"So that should mean we're ghosts, yeah?" "Ryuji" assumed.

"…Nah, too cliché." "Ann" dismissed 'Ryuji's" idea. "Plus, if that were the case, wouldn't we be able to be seen by others? I mean, if one can see ghosts, can't everyone? Like in some movies?" She looked down in thought. "But there are other films that make so only one person sees them…"

"I don't think this is that type of scenario, Lady Ann." "Morgana" replied, putting a hand to his chin. "Don't forget, there are two incredibly important factors that we are not considering at all at the moment."

All of the "Phantom Thieves" looked down towards the "cat". "What would those two things be then?" "Haru" asked in curiosity.

"Well, like what's happening right now for example." "Morgana" pointed out. "First, Joker's head is kind of hurting right now. As if it were being stressed out."

…Akira blinked at the statement. The "cat" … was getting somewhere.

"Second…" Akira seemed to lean in a bit closer to listen to the figures that may or may not be there in reality. "We're saying exactly everything that is on Joker's mind. Whatever he thinks, we speak." All of the "Phantom Thieves" immediately looked up towards the boy and startled him. "Plus, we constantly fade in and out whenever his mind would be extremely occupied with other things. Now why would that be the case?"

Sure, "Morgana" acted dumb. But then it started dawning on Akira. These were not the real Phantom Thieves. They weren't ghosts, spirits, or any sort of supernatural apparitions. It was purely considered to be science. The constant head injuries a few days ago. Aching head and he would see them. They would know what he was thinking while he would know what they would say.

When he figured it out, it did not bode very well with the boy.

 **Break**

With her utensils tapping against the ceramic plate, Weiss finished her first meal of the day.

Breakfast was as good as usual. Well, it sort of was said without saying due to the status of her family after all. But this meal was a lot more quiet than usual as of late. Mainly due to the lack of noise. AS well as a lack of the source of noise.

Akira did not even arrive late to the table to eat. Odd, considering that the boy would be on time or late for a meal. But never even showing up in general was something Weiss would not expect… Or on seconds thought, it was a possibility. That potential event crossed her mind with him staying up all night reading for his first moments in Remnant.

"How was your meal, Miss Schnee?" Hearing an older man speak, Weiss turned her head and nodded politely towards her butler. "I hope it was to your satisfaction as usual?" Klein asked, reaching over to grab the plate in front of the heiress,

"Yes, it certainly was." The white-haired female nodded in thanks while wiping her mouth with the cotton napkin that had been provided. Just as the man was about to walk away, she decided to stop him for a question. "Klein?"

The man turned around and tilted his head a bit curiously. "Yes, Miss Schnee?"

Weiss opened her mouth at first, but then closed it soon after. That didn't affect the adult's attitude to her as he stood and waited. Looking down for a couple of seconds, she thought about what to say before she started to speak again. "Have you seen Akira this morning? I'm… slightly surprised that he didn't show up for breakfast today."

Klein slightly frowned in thought before looking up towards the ceiling. "Hmm…" He hummed before looking back down. "I do recall Mister Kurusu walking around the halls very early in the morning. Just when I had started my duties of the day. He was even muttering and mumbling to himself the entire time, as if he were having a conversation with someone. But unfortunately, I have only managed to catch a glimpse of him before he was gone from my sight."

The girl frowned at this information. But it eventually grew and became a neutral look on her face. "What in the world could he be doing?" She asked herself while placing a hand to his chin.

The butler looked down and nodded his head with closed eyes. "If you ask me," He then looked up to reveal that his eyes were red, and his face morphed into a bit of a grumpy glare. "He better not be up to any funny business if he knows what good for him."

Weiss noted the shift in Klein's personality suddenly, but she was used to it. It did slightly entertain and cheer her up a bit as a child. Such changes even fascinated her to this day in fact. "…Well…" She slowly said, remembering the events of last night. But she shook her head. "Never mind. It may be that he… just has a lot on his mind right now."

Blinking, Klein's pupils changed colors once more from red to pink. "Erm… if you don't mind me asking…" The man bashfully started. "What makes you think that?"

Weiss stayed quiet for a couple of moments to carefully think. "…Well…" She slowly said. "…Something happened last night that involved him having a lot on his mind." She didn't exactly want to say how Akira basically faked an attempt on her life in order to try and hone her instincts or self-defence skills. While Klein was her butler, she still had a bit of pride to maintain and did not want to be embarrassed. "I'm sure that he just needs some time to himself."

"…I see…" Klein looked down for a moment before bringing his face back up to show light-brown eyes. His features however showed some concern. "If that is what you think…" With those words, he nodded his head and walked off.

Sighing, Weiss raised a hand to rub her face. "What in the world is he up to?" She asked herself once again while standing up. Moving her legs, she directed herself out of the dining room and back towards her bedroom. There were a couple of things she had to grab to help her with her morning studies.

During her small amount of time to travel though, she started to think once again. Was Akira really okay at this point? She never thought the boy would go to such an extreme length in his way to help. While it did show how he was concerned for her, his methods were not the best no matter what the boy may claim.

Not only that, the lack of extra noise at the table was slightly disturbing to Weiss. She had almost forgotten that she was used to eating by herself since Akira would usually be with her at the table at the same time. Even without speaking, she had grown a bit accustomed to the sound of another fork tapping their own plate. Whitely hardly ate with her, so the company was… at least nice for a bit whenever the black-haired male was around.

…Where was she going with this again? Ah, yes, what Akira may be up to. Thinking back to what Klein had said, it came to her mind. Akira walking around her home while muttering to himself. The moving part would be expected. But where the boy was trying to go however was a completely different matter. Add in the fact of him muttering to himself constantly. Saying things to himself, that could be normal for anyone. Talking non-stop to oneself however was another thing.

Arriving to her room, she opened the door, took a step in, heard a snap, and yelped while being yanked into the air.

 **Break**

"So, what's the next thing we're going to do?"

Tapping a pencil on a piece of paper, Akira sighed when he heard "Ryuji" asked a question. Inside of his room, the boy was sitting at the desk. In front of him was a small list of possible ideas that he could pull off in order to help Weiss. The many ideas were bound to increase, but Akira was running a bit dry at the moment when it came to various plans.

"There is no "we" in this." The boy muttered, using his free hand to rub his head. "None of you are actually here. You're just in my head." He then began to jot down another idea that came to mind.

"Ryuji" shrugged his shoulders. "Hey, I'm just seeing if I can help." The figure held their hands up. "Besides, it's not my fault that we're still on your mind. Face it, man, we're stuck with you one way or another."

…Wow. Akira never thought that his sub-conscious would be this snarky to himself.

"Why the hell would you put it like that?" "Ann" remarked, narrowing her eyes in "Ryuji's" direction. "We're dead. Akira blames himself for that. Now he's hallucinating about us, so this is not something to be joking around about!"

"Yeah, way to avoid the subject you two." Futaba drawled out while deadpanning with a flat gaze. "But since we're on the topic," Yup, his mind really knew how to mess with him. "What do you still think?" The "ginger" asked Akira.

Tapping a finger against the desk, Akira stared down while thinking with a combination of how to aid Weiss and to answer "Futaba's" question. "…How should I know?" He finally answered before writing down another method he could use.

"Really?" "Yusuke" asked, leaning against a nearby wall. "That's your answer?" The "blue-haired teenager" seemed to raise an eyebrow. Despite Akira knowing what the figure was doing, it didn't stop the living male to look up in the direction he felt the stare coming from. "You seemed to be absolutely certain that it was your fault a few days ago."

"Do you really not know?" "Haru" asked gently, leaning forward so her face would be right next to Akira. "I think it's still okay that you're at least thinking about the issue."

"Or do you not want to really answer because you're afraid of the result?" Makoto added, putting a hand against the desk Akira was using. The boy turned to face the "brunette" who currently had his attention. "Was it your fault or not? If yes, then you probably have a right to feel guilty. But if not, you still will feel ashamed of yourself."

Akira thought about arguing. But the words made him think. Since this was his sub-consciousness, this meant that everything he was hearing from the "Phantom Thieves" is really himself in a way. So in other words, he was currently arguing with himself at the moment. Really, he wanted to prove himself wrong over those words.

But deep down inside… that was how he felt…

Hearing his scroll beep snapped the boy out of his thoughts. Blinking in a startled manner, all of his "friends" disappeared before his eyes. Looking around carefully for a couple of seconds, Akira warily reaching over to grab his electronic before bringing his full attention to the screen. Seeing the notification, he observed that Weiss had sent him a text.

 _[My room. NOW!]_

After reading, Akira immediately had a feeling he knew why the white-haired girl had sent him a rather demanding message. Scanning his surroundings, he sighed to himself before getting up to his feet. Walking out of his room, he easily navigated his way through the Schnee manor.

Reaching the door to Weiss' room, he pushed open the door. Originally, he would knock to at least be polite as well as it should be the common curtesy if the barrier were put up. But he had a feeling that Weiss wanted him in there as soon as possible.

Just as he had opened the door, Akira slid right through the opening and closed it behind him. Looking up a bit, he felt like he shouldn't say anything. Yet the boy decided to make a comment about the situation. "I got your text." He stated while walking around the heiress.

Weiss however was not amused as Akira's words. "You are a barbaric jerk." She scowled, arms crossed while her body was balled up. All the while she glared at the boy from the side of her eyes.

The heiress was inside of a rope trap made of cables instead of the former material. She never felt so humiliated in her entire life, even if this event was completely private and to be known only to the boy as well as her. Dangling in the air, all the cables formed a net and Weiss couldn't struggle unless she wanted to get tangled up in the mess.

Akira didn't bother adding how he could have it so that Weiss could be hanging upside down by her leg so whatever was underneath her skirt could be shown. "I did warn you about guerilla style tests." He replied in his defense, his back turned to the heiress while moving around so he wouldn't see what could potentially be shown.

"I thought you were joking!" Weiss snapped back, pushing down the hem of her skirt when she realized why Akira had his back towards her.

"Yes, Weiss, that's me, a joke machine." He deadpanned, finding the main cable holding up the net. Untying one end, the boy made sure to keep a firm grip as he gently lowered Weiss down onto the ground.

"How do you even know how to make a trap like this?" She had gotten back up to her feet and gestured down to the material that was right beneath her feet. "This is something one would do for scouts or something of such nature! Don't tell me you're a boy scout!"

"Hmm, she's really tearing into you." "Yusuke" commented from the side. Akira however, despite being a bit surprised, did not visibly acknowledge the words. "Maybe you should have left her strung up a little bit longer. Allow some time for her to vent inside of the cable confines."

"…Kind of out of character there, Yusuke." "Ann" noted in a bit of a disturbed tone.

"What character?" "Ryuji" asked with a raised eyebrow. "We are literally a part of Akira's head. Whatever he thinks, we say." The "blonde" gestured to the black-haired male before pointing towards the other "figures".

"I managed to make such a trap thanks to the power of the internet." Akira decided to answer Weiss' questioned by pulling out his scroll in order to ignore the scene going on in his brain, "Just a quick search on how to make rope traps and I had plans. I just needed rope or something similar, which is why I have all of those extension cables." He then showed her the website where he learned to make the trap.

Glaring at the boy with irritation, Weiss groaned while rubbing her eyes. "So, this is what you were up to when Klein saw you…" She sighed, scratching her face a bit. "Well, at least this answers why there was a lack of your presence during breakfast." Bringing her arms up, Weiss folded them and did not look at Akira happily. "You were up to shenanigans."

"Kind of a light term if you ask me." "Futaba" muttered to herself.

"I have also heard that you were talking to yourself for the entire time as well." Weiss continued, really grabbing Akira's attention. "I'm told that it was as if you were having a conversation with yourself." She watched the boy, trying to see if she could get a reaction. Her attempts were failing. "Is there something I should be concerned about?"

"Other than the fact that I'm still going to help you improve upon what I want to help you with?" Akira asked before quickly shaking his head. "Not really."

Weiss narrowed her eyes in his direction. Not because of his answer. Honestly, she sort of expected that kind of response from the boy. Akira was dead set on helping her with his own methods, one way or another. No, it was the speed of how he answered. A speed people use whenever trying to avoid a conversation.

"…Just get out of my room." Weiss sighed, deciding not to question it. She was already running on a tight schedule and this little trap of his cost her some time. "And you better not pull off anything like this again!" She pointed down to the trap to let the boy know what she was talking about. "Make sure to clean up after yourself as well! I'm not going to be the one to pick up after you and neither is Klein!"

Akira nodded his head only once. However, "No promises." He stated as he started gathering everything before walking out of the door.

Watching the boy leave as she was in disbelief, Weiss shook her head. She began to feel like the days to come were going to be stressful and annoying.

 **Break**

What could be considered day two of Akira's surprise attacks almost flew over Weiss' head.

The only reason why she remembered it was when she fell for one of his traps. It was not even considered to be that smart to begin with, just being plain childish.

Standing under an open door, Weiss had her jaw dropped down as a plastic bucket was covering about half of her entire head. Nothing was inside of the container, but the small amount of stinging at the top of her head as well as surprise she felt irked her.

Taking the bucket off, she saw that there was a small note inside. Reaching in, she pulled out the piece of paper and unfolded it to see a message.

 _Imagine if I had filled it up with water… or something worse._

…She sarcastically thanked Akira mentally for the odd imaging he had now put in her head.

Looking to her side, Weiss did a double take when she saw Akira sitting down in a chair just staring at her with a book in his hand. Irritated, she threw the bucket at Akira before walking away.

Catching the item, Akira didn't say anything or really make any kind of indication of acknowledgement.

"…Huh…" "Morgana" voiced out suddenly, causing Akira to look down to the chair-arm to see the figure. "I expected a bit more of an… explosive reaction."

 **Break**

Day three wasn't any better.

Weiss had just finished her combat practicing with her instructor. Her muscles ached a bit as she was being worked down to the bone with every class. Yes, there were breaks. But they didn't seem to do the white-haired girl any good.

Trudging through the halls, she was about to go around a corner. But she had a tiny feeling that she shouldn't go around there. But it was quickly gone as she hardly remembered it with each passing step.

Just before she could go any further, Akira stepped around holding a small cup of water. Without any hesitation, not to mention a straight face, he splashed Weiss in the face with the liquid.

Stunned at the sudden action, Weiss did not retaliate at all and it gave Akira the perfect time to slip away.

"Hey, dude," "Ryuji" caught Akira's attention. "Don't you think this is… I don't know… kind of getting out of hand?" The "blonde" asked. "I mean, is this stuff really considered necessary? That water part was kind of mean."

"…" Akira stayed silent for a moment, slowing his pace down until he stopped walking. "She's making progress." He insisted quietly to nobody but his own being.

He agreed with himself, but his mind argued that he was wrong.

 **Break**

Staring down towards the floor, Weiss frowned on the fourth day.

She had a feeling dwell inside of her when she neared the dining room. Something had rung inside of her head to look down and not take another step forward.

Which now brought her to the present time of staring down at a trip-wire. Out of everything she had experienced for the past couple of days, a trip-wire of all things was sort of… cliché. Weiss knew something like this was coming, but it just seemed… like such an obvious thing for Akira to do.

What was he thinking?

Stepping over the wire, she rolled her eyes and moved forward.

Hearing a snap when her leg brushed against something, Weiss groaned when a net came falling and pinned her.

She did not expect a second trip-wire.

Seeing a pair of feet stand in front of her, Weiss did her best to try and look up. Rolling her eyes upwards, she saw that Akira was looking down towards her with his usual look and it irritated her more than ever. "You have five seconds to get this off of me." The girl threatened despite her positioning.

Akira raised an eyebrow, but at least helped her back up.

 **Break**

On the fifth day, Weiss slowly looked up from her book in the library when she saw Akira walk in and sit himself down.

She made sure to keep a cautious eye on him this time. Most of his methods involved him being out of her line of sight. So, if he was here, she had to be careful of how she would have to leave. If that were not the case, Weiss was almost certain he was going to tackle her to the ground and want her to fight back.

But the longer she stared at the boy, the more her suspicions began to lower. Akira didn't make a single indication that he had his eye on her. The boy didn't even show any signs of preparations for attack. His entire body was relaxed, not a single muscle tensed now. That didn't stop Weiss from keeping her guard up though as she thought the boy was just waiting for her to make herself vulnerable.

Or perhaps he was waiting for her to fall for another trap.

Deciding to risk the latter rather than go through the former, Weiss got up off of her seat and began moving towards the door as fast as she could. Without looking back, something inside of her told her that Akira had gotten off his seat. Turning her head, that small voice was correct as the boy was standing up.

Weiss immediately began to move faster, making sure that she had distanced herself far enough from the boy so she would have space away from his running start. But as soon as she had reached the door, she felt something incredibly hard strike her back, painfully.

"…" Opening her mouth, she released a silent shout. Her hands curled up in anger as she brought them up. "…OW!" Weiss snapped her entire body around, glaring at Akira who was in a pose as if he had just thrown something. Looking down to the ground, she saw that Arsene's Cane was rolling on the ground at her feet. "WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!" She snatched the weapon and pointed it at Akira accusingly.

"Don't be cross, that could have been a knife." Akira stated in his defense, leaning from one leg to the next. His body stood up a bit straighter as if he were a teacher lecturing a student. "You do at least still remember the tests of your reflexes, yes?" He asked while pointing towards her.

"Because you're afraid of me getting hurt." Weiss scowled. "I remember!"

"You don't know or see it yet, but you are improving." Akira complimented, such words unfortunately being overshadowed by the white-haired female's annoyance. "Just now for example, you knew that I had gotten up to do something. You even kept an eye on me, scanning to see if I were going to physically attack you before you tried to leave earlier as well."

"Because of the experience that you've been putting me through for the past few days!" Weiss exclaimed back. "I've been having to be cautious of you in general, not because of your stupid tricks working!"

"You're angry, this is good." Akira then raise his hands and balled them up into fists. He then entered a crude boxing pose. Waving his hands around, the boy beckoned. "Come on. Come on!" There was a slight bit of manic insanity in his urging tone.

At this point, Weiss had to put her foot down on the situation. All of those other time were putting her on edge. But at least those events didn't cause her any great amount of physical pain. She growled a bit and pointed at Akira sharply.

"Okay, I don't know if you realized this by now. But the only one who had been hurting me lately, is you!"

With a huff, she left the library immediately.

Her words left Akira in a bit of a surprised state. He stayed silent, allowing the quiet surroundings to be emphasized on how he was the only one in the room. Slowly, his fists uncurled. Sluggishly, his shoulders fell. Limply, his shoulders sagged. Hunching over, Akira was stunned as her words played out in his mind.

That sentence… triggered something within the boy.

 **Break**

That.

Stupid.

Fool.

Weiss kept those words as well as several other insults on Akira in her head as she was in the middle of combat practice. She knew that this was more of a time to focus, but she couldn't help it. That boy had gone too far with what he had done. She now considered kicking the boy out of her home just as her father had tried to do.

Ducking and dodging absent mindedly, she just continued to allow the frustration to build up inside of her. Never had she thought that the boy could get under her skin by this much. But the constant stunts he pulled off just went past a line Akira should have known had been set in the first place.

Feeling herself being knocked off her feet, she snapped out of her thoughts and cursed herself. Weiss knew that her teacher was a retired huntress, so the adult could probably see that the white-haired girl was distracted. The heiress hoped that her teacher wouldn't notice.

"…You seemed distracted this fight, Miss Schnee. Is everything all right?"

Just her luck. She didn't want them to know, but what was she expecting in the first place? "Yes, everything is fine." Weiss lied, fighting the urge to grind her teeth in front of the adult.

The adult frowned but then shrugged their shoulders. "If you insist." They decided to let it be as they helped Weiss back up to her feet. "But I must say, Miss Schnee, your skills have improved these past couple of days." Praise came from them with pride. "It's also good to see that you have finally realized what I thought you had been lacking."

Those words caused the teenager to give her instructor a puzzled look. "…Sorry, but I am not quite sure what you are referring to." Weiss said with confusion. "I was… distracted with other things for this spar." She admitted with a bit of shame while looking away.

"Ah, so things aren't going very well then." Weiss held her tongue due to the teacher's observation. "Nonetheless, that just probably proves that your abilities have become a bit better than you know."

Blinking, she looked up. "What do you mean by that?" Weiss asked.

The instructor smiled gently to her student. "Miss Schnee, it is good that you remain true to the form that I have taught you. But if you continue as so, your opponent will eventually figure out how you fight and will surprise you with many methods. Yes, you still sticking to your basic isn't bad but not very good either. But today you managed to avoid most of my advances that took advantage of certain weak points that you tended to expose in your style for the past few days when you would always be caught off guard by them. Distracted nonetheless! It was already good at first, but you already have displayed defensive instincts! Now all we must do is try and incorporate that talent into a flowing style that branches out from what you've learned."

Weiss just stared. She… never really considered that her just doing what she always did would be considered bad. Perhaps it was just a reflex to do whatever she was told and stick to it.

Looking at a watch, her teacher clapped her hands. "Well, it appears that our time together for the day is over." Strapping her weapon to her back, she was about to leave when it looked like something had crossed her mind. "Oh, you are going to try to be the leader of your team when you join an academy, correct?"

Breaking out of her thoughts, Weiss quickly collected herself, so she wouldn't stutter. "…Yes, I am."

"As a leader, you may want something like this as well." The adult explained. "In such a position, you may end up having to make decisions that will greatly affect your mission. While logic is a sound option, what if the odds are too close and yet the results are drastically different? That's when you have to just trust your instincts. And as I've said already, using your gut is a good thing to apply in combat as well."

With a single wave after finishing up, her instructor left the room.

…While Weiss did understand what her teacher was trying to explain, the girl thought it could have probably been done better. But the girl soon began to consider the adult's words. Also… maybe Akira's methods did work a bit… Although she should really make sure that the boy at least keep them to a moderate level, guerilla style or not.

…That's right… Akira…

…As a leader…

…Decisions that will greatly affect a mission…

…At this moment, Weiss then remembered what she had said to him and cringed a bit in guilt.

 **Break**

Using his supposed last moments in Weiss' home, Akira did nothing but stay seated in the guest room that he had been staying in,

With an elbow propped up against the armrest of the chair in front of the desk, Akira leaned over to that side to use his hand to support his face. Eyes closed, Akira kept on taking deep breaths. Rubbing his forehead, the contact also spread to his eyes as he tried to calm himself down. But his eyes were shut so tight as if he were crying.

"…It's okay, I'm sure she didn't mean it." Akira heard "Haru's" voice. But the boy refused to open his eyes. He already knew what he would view and he didn't want to see "them". Not right now…

"…Akira…" "Futaba" whispered with concern.

"Saying my name… Is it really necessary?" Akira asked slowly, his head starting to hurt once again. "You're not real. You're not here. You're…" He inhaled for a few seconds, held his breath, then exhaled. There was no point in finishing that sentence since "they" already knew what he was going to say. He tapped his fingers against his head in an agitated manner.

"You never let words or things like these get to you." "Yusuke" pointed out. "So why this? Why this display? You never let everyone back in Tokyo bother your well-being a single bit."

"Because those weren't true. But this…" Akira trailed off. "…Maybe I do worse than good."

"…Dude… Come on…" "Ryuji" tried to console the teenager. "Okay, so maybe you went a little too far today. Doesn't mean you'll do that again any time soon." Akira did not respond, but he knew that the figment frowned. "…Was it because of her words reminding you of us?"

Akira's grip on his face tightened and tensed.

"It is, isn't it?" "Ann" asked then paused. "…Oh, Akira…"

"What happened to us…" "Morgana" said quietly and as gently as "he" could. "It wasn't your fault."

"EXACTLY!"

Akira slammed his fists right against the flat surface of the desk, banging the material hard. Opening his eyes with frustration, he whipped his head around to see all of the "Phantom Thieves" looking back at him with shock and pity. "I did everything right! We did everything right! You all died anyways!"

"Things like these, they happen!" "Morgana" protested back. "We knew the risks and possibilities yet went with you because we wanted to do the right thing! You already know this! We were up against a god!"

"And what about other gods then, HUH?!" Akira yelled back to the people that weren't in the room. "Why couldn't – why didn't they do anything?! If Yaldabaoth was real, wouldn't that mean other gods were?! Where were they?!" He questioned, getting the "Phantom Thieves" to fall silent. "We did so much good… You all had you're lives ahead of you…" Going quiet for a moment, he put his hands on top of the chair. "But this is how it turned out… This… was our reward… WELL IT'S NOT FAIR!"

Bring the chair up high, Akira then smashed the piece of furniture against the floor. The object shattered into many splinters due to the frustration building up in the boy and the "Phantom Thieves" disappeared.

Panting, Akira's eyes had eventually drifted down to his clothing. The front was being weighed down. Due to the spacing, the boy caught a glimpse of what were in the pockets of the tuxedo. That's right…

His guns were still there…

Hearing a knock, Akira was startled at the notion. Looking over towards the door, Akira tried to breath through his nose but then realized that it had been blocked up. Inhaling through his mouth Akira wiped his eyes and then nose when he realized that he had just begun crying. Staring at the barrier, he shuffled over towards the surface.

Sniffling and rubbing his face once more, he grabbed the knob and cracked the door open by a few inches. From the small opening, he saw a familiar white-haired heiress standing out in the hall. Realizing who it was, Akira immediately turned his head to the side and down to avoid eye contact. "Do you- do you – um – need something?" He swallowed before asking.

Just out of the corner of his eye however, he saw Weiss stare at him with a bit of shock. A few seconds of silence passed between them before she looked guilty. After that, she took in a deep breath. "…I'm sorry for what I said this afternoon." She apologized. "…It was a mistake… I just didn't realize why you were making such a big deal out of everything until recently…"

Akira tilted his head just a bit to look, but then immediately returned it back to the downward position.

"…You started something… and I-I'd like you to finish it." Weiss continued slowly. "…But I also want more. I want to be able to learn what you have to offer to help me." The heiress saw the boy's head twitch. "It's greedy of me to ask… But can you do it? Just… make sure that things don't get too out of hand like today." Bringing her hand out, she held Arsene's cane in his direction.

"…" Akira slowly turned his head so that just one of his eyes was visible to the female. "…We will need some more stuff then… Stuff that I doubt is inside of this household." He spoke the best he could, albeit a bit shakily and with a stuffed-up nose. Reaching his hand out, the boy accepted his weapon back.

Weiss nodded her head slowly, still looking a bit guilty. "We can go shopping tomorrow." She said as Akira began to retreat back into the room. But before Akira could fully close the door, she opened her mouth. "…I'm not sure if I should be saying this… but…" The girl went quiet for a moment. "About your friends… Does it have to do with you? …Does it not?" She shook her head slowly. "I really wish I could help you out more."

Akira stayed silent, having a feeling the girl would continue.

"But… you can use this to your advantage maybe." Weiss suggested quietly. "Why not try and help other people just as you did before? Don't let their deaths be in vain. You already showed this kind of display back with the Juwels family. So, is there any harm in using it as a motivation?"

Since Akira just stared at her with surprised, the heiress nodded her head before walking away.

Watching her leave for a couple of seconds, Akira shut the door. Walking to the center of the room, he took a couple of deep breaths to calm his nerves again. Looking down towards Arsene's Cane, his face began to lighten up by a fraction as if he realized something.

Bringing his face up, Akira walked toward the window and stared out towards the scenery that was provided thanks to the moonlight.

 **Break**

Morning was the time Akira stood in the exact place his first moment in Remnant was.

Looking out towards Atlas, he eyed the grand Kingdom. But there was something else completely on his mind. Yes, the setting sort of reminded Akira a bit of Tokyo… But the difference between those two places were the people. Such people were the exact thoughts on Akira's mind.

A small breeze was felt as Akira stood staring. His hands were in his pockets, face scrunched up. Not in thought. It was as if he were attending a funeral. He supposed to himself that that was what he was kind of doing… maybe. Akira at least preferred to say that he was paying his respects to his fallen friends.

"…Akira Kurusu…" Akira didn't look to his side to see "Morgana" speak, but it was not out of frustration. He… felt different when compared to a couple of weeks ago. "When did you become such a cliché?" The "cat" asked with a joking snark.

"Ryuji" had to agree. "I know, right?"

"Standing over a grave, head heavy with dark thoughts…" "Ann" added.

"If this were a picture I would have to portray, I would have refused to draw it." "Yusuke" commented.

Still looking down, Akira inhaled. He hesitated for a second. That one second however felt like a very long time to him though. The boy focused on his words. "It occurred to me, last night, that I never really paid any of you any final respects since coming to Remnant… I thought now would be a good time to do so while waiting for Weiss."

"…That's good…" "Makoto" whispered.

"…We're sorry for letting you down, Akira…" "Futaba" apologized quietly.

"…None of you let me down." Akira replied, narrowing his eyes due to the light and the wind in his face. "What happened then… it may have to do with me… but I know that most of it was because of Yaldabaoth." He nodded his head slightly. "I understand that… and I'll make sure that I do whatever I can to make each of you proud." There was a small pause.

"I also came here today because… because I loved you all very much." Akira just managed to keep himself from choking, feeling his eyes hurt a bit due to them about to produce tears. "…And I wanted you to let each of you know that all of you will be missed…"

"…At me too someone is looking." "Haru" gently said, as if comforting the boy. "At me too someone is saying they're sleeping, they know nothing… Let them sleep on."

"Akira,"

Hearing his name being called, the boy looked up. Gazing over to his left, he saw nobody. Bring his head over to his right, not a single soul was in sight. Slowly, he turned his entire body around. In his sights, approaching him, Weiss was in a warm, white coat as she went closer. The white surrounding her almost had her blend in. Yet he could easily make out her body through the setting.

"There you are." The female breathed, the warm exhaling mixing with the cold air to create some sort of mist. "I've been looking for you." But when she arrived in front of the boy, she then realized where the two of them were standing. "…It's been a while since you last stood here…" Tilting her head, she held a concerned look. "Are… you going to be okay?"

Putting his hands behind his back, Akira stared directly into Weiss' eyes. "…I believe I may be." He said with a bit of relief in his breath as the corners of his mouth twitched.

"…That's good." Weiss said quietly as she nodded her head as well.

Bringing out one hand, Akira held it out in the direction of the driveway. "Well, shall we depart then?" He asked courteously.

Weiss didn't give an answer. But there was no need for such words as she turned around. The monochrome duo then immediately took strides at the same time towards their common destination.

But during their walk, Weiss had to ask. "…What exactly do we need anyways?"

Akira looked over. "Well, various items that I doubt will be sold in shops."

Weiss stopped for a moment, but the black-haired male continued walking. "…Wait," She then quickly had to catch up to the boy. "Then why are we heading out then?"

 **Break**

"I still cannot believe that you've been in contact with that criminal for that entire time."

Sitting down at a table with a cup of tea in her hands, Weiss asked this question as Akira stood in front of the property of a café. The heiress was giving the boy an incredulous look. Akira meanwhile understood the gaze the girl gave him, as well as several odd eyes he would receive from passing civilians.

"Well, technically, yes." Akira answered, holding up a carboard sign. "But really, she hadn't contact me for that entire time either. I reached out to her last night, said I needed some stuff, and she agreed that her pricing as well as the fake ID could be paid off this way." With his right hand after the explanation, he used his four fingers and thumb to gesture to what had been written down. He also had turned so that Weiss could read the sign again.

 _HELP ME PAY OFF DEBT BY PUNCHING ME IN THE ARM_

"But, if you ask me, this is sort of a steal." Akira continued as he turned back around to face the public. "At least she isn't charging me any money for this. Albeit at the cost of a sore limb for a few days. But beggars can't be choosers." He shrugged his shoulders.

Still standing in place, Akira saw a ginger-haired man in a white coat and most of his face covered to prevent the cold approach him. Looking down, the adult read the sign and raised an eyebrow. "…I don't get it." They said, looking back up to the boy.

"You don't have to." Akira answered back simply.

The man seemed to let out a small hum of nonchalance with a shrug before striking Akira's arm with their fist.

As the adult walked away, Akira only stood up straight against. But Weiss saw the small grimace on the boy's face. "Do you need ice yet?" She asked.

He shook his head. "Nah."

"…If you got the time correct, she's already an hour late." Weiss stated with a small frown. "I'm not sure how much more of this you can take."

Akira exhaled. "It's fine." He reassured the female. "I've been in situations where I've had to be in pain without any kind of medical aid for long periods of time."

A parent and a child passed by Akira. The parent ignored the teenager but the child looked over in interest. Stepping forward, the kid kicked Akira's arm rather than punch. Although it looked like the kick didn't bother him, the black-haired boy kicked the brat's back with the bottom of his shoes so it looked like the kid tripped.

Standing back in a neutral position, he saw the same ginger from earlier approach him. This he had to hold his hand up to. "Sorry, sorry, one go a day. Sorry." He informed the man.

The adult however gestured to his side. "What about my friend here?" He asked, pointing to a girl who was carrying a large box.

Looking over, Akira seemed to be slightly reluctant as he nodded his head. "Alright, come on." He said, just wanting to get it over with.

The girl then put the box down and fisted his arm hard. But after that, she pulled out a scroll and tapped it a couple of times.

Feeling a vibration, Akira patted himself down. Feeling his scroll, he pulled out the electronic after putting the sign under his arm. Unlocking the screen, he saw a single message.

 _[;3]_

Feeling his sore arm being patted, Akira looked up to see the man to be the one who made the physical contact. "Pleasure doing business with you." The adult smirked before turning around.

Blinking, Akira looked down. Wait a moment… that height… despite looking different… Along with the sent text… "Neo?" He asked.

The girl only winked at him before walking away with her companion.

Looking around, Akira moved forward and bent down. Opening the box, he took a quick peek inside to see if the contents he needed were inside. Weiss meanwhile came up from behind Akira, trying to get a look as to what kind of stuff should will be exposed to in the future.

Just a second later, Akira closed the box while looking to his left and right. Grabbing the object, he lifted it up. "Right, come on then. Let's get back to your place." He tilted his head in the direction of the limo that they had taken before walking that exact way.

Weiss however was frozen for a moment before having to run and catch up with the boy. "Why did I mainly see handcuffs in that box?"

 **You know what they say about assume? It makes an ass out of you in front of me. You know who you are if you read the reviews.**

 **Decent chapter is decent. There could have been parts that could be done better, but I'm not sure which ones and how. Apologies.**

 **No flames please.**


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